Review of First Survivor
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Carole Kendall
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Review of First Survivor
[Following is a volunteer review of "First Survivor" by Mark Unger.]
The full title of Mark Unger’s book, First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Breakthrough is a spoiler that automatically makes you feel optimistic about a successful outcome. However, the title does not tell the whole tale of all that the Unger family endured as their youngest son, Louis, battled neuroblastoma, a cancer with a devastatingly low success rate of only 30% at the time he was diagnosed. This battle began at Thanksgiving in 2001. While most of America was counting their blessings and overeating in their comfortable homes, the Ungers were eating their meager Thanksgiving dinner on metal trays in a hospital play room. They were filled with both despair and determination that they would expend all of their energies on finding the steps that would save three-year-old Louis’s life. It took several days of blood tests, X-ray’s, and repeated bone marrow tests to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, and this time was very anxiety provoking for Louis’s parents.
Overwhelmed by a flood of medical terminology, Mark Unger described “feeling as if strange birds flew around our heads.” He determined to catch and understand those birds by taking meticulous daily notes on Louis’s treatment, by immersing himself in extensive internet study, and by being a strong advocate for Louis at every step in his treatment. As an advocate, Mark had telephone interviews with childhood oncology specialists all across America. He met regularly with the treating physicians and posed numerous questions about ongoing treatment and future options. He was actively involved in making decisions and challenging physicians at a time when the norm for parents of patients was to be much more submissive and accepting of their physician’s authority. Mark was also primarily responsible for caring for Harry, Louis’s older brother by two years. While Harry coveted more time with his mother, he seemed to handle this difficult time better than would be expected for a child so young, and he looked forward to times when he could be with Louis at home or in the hospital.
Mary Ellen, Mark’s wife, was also actively involved in Louis’s care. She practically lived at the hospital, sleeping on an uncomfortable couch, night after night, to comfort Louis and so that he would never wake up alone. During painful procedures, of which there were many, she took on the role of distracting Louis by playing games with him or singing to him. At times she could only hold him while he screamed in agony. The silver lining in this story is that Lois turned out to have an unusually high tolerance for pain and a fighting spirit that viewed his treatment as just something that interfered with his play time. He remained determined to get through treatment so that he could get back to playing. While you may think that I have summarized this whole book, I assure you that I have not. All that I have mentioned happens very early in the book, and there are many more twists and curveballs in this book that I have been careful to leave out. A reader will find many surprises waiting.
At its heart, First Survivor is Mark Unger’s love story to his family. It has themes of optimism, resilience, persistence, and familial strength and love. I felt that I got to know all four of the Unger’s and went along with them on a frightening and harrowing journey. The descriptions of the various physicians involved were also very vivid and allowed me to feel that I was a silent member at the many medical discussions held. Mark stated that his motto was, “There are no dead ends, only new paths.” Mark went to remarkable lengths to find these new paths, and he has my greatest admiration for his efforts. There was nothing I disliked about this book; I read it in one sitting. However, I did experience a moral dilemma as I wondered if I could subject a child of mine to so many painful procedures when the success rate was so dismal. Ultimately, I sided with the Unger’s. How could I live with the guilt of letting my child die knowing that I had not done everything I possibly could have to allow him to live? I would have liked to know why the author waited so long to recount the story as there were sixteen years between the start of the book and its publishing. I suspect that the delay was due to the difficulty of dredging up painful memories, but I would really have liked an explanation for the delay from the author. The thing that I liked best about the book was the sense of realism and the ease of relating to the Unger family. As I got caught up in their day to day struggles, they began to feel like friends or neighbors. The book was well written and well edited. I found only a few errors in the book, and these did not interfere with the story. I am pleased to award this inspiring book 5 out of 5 stars/i] and heartily recommend it for anyone who likes “medical thrillers” as Unger categorizes his book.
******
First Survivor
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The full title of Mark Unger’s book, First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Breakthrough is a spoiler that automatically makes you feel optimistic about a successful outcome. However, the title does not tell the whole tale of all that the Unger family endured as their youngest son, Louis, battled neuroblastoma, a cancer with a devastatingly low success rate of only 30% at the time he was diagnosed. This battle began at Thanksgiving in 2001. While most of America was counting their blessings and overeating in their comfortable homes, the Ungers were eating their meager Thanksgiving dinner on metal trays in a hospital play room. They were filled with both despair and determination that they would expend all of their energies on finding the steps that would save three-year-old Louis’s life. It took several days of blood tests, X-ray’s, and repeated bone marrow tests to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, and this time was very anxiety provoking for Louis’s parents.
Overwhelmed by a flood of medical terminology, Mark Unger described “feeling as if strange birds flew around our heads.” He determined to catch and understand those birds by taking meticulous daily notes on Louis’s treatment, by immersing himself in extensive internet study, and by being a strong advocate for Louis at every step in his treatment. As an advocate, Mark had telephone interviews with childhood oncology specialists all across America. He met regularly with the treating physicians and posed numerous questions about ongoing treatment and future options. He was actively involved in making decisions and challenging physicians at a time when the norm for parents of patients was to be much more submissive and accepting of their physician’s authority. Mark was also primarily responsible for caring for Harry, Louis’s older brother by two years. While Harry coveted more time with his mother, he seemed to handle this difficult time better than would be expected for a child so young, and he looked forward to times when he could be with Louis at home or in the hospital.
Mary Ellen, Mark’s wife, was also actively involved in Louis’s care. She practically lived at the hospital, sleeping on an uncomfortable couch, night after night, to comfort Louis and so that he would never wake up alone. During painful procedures, of which there were many, she took on the role of distracting Louis by playing games with him or singing to him. At times she could only hold him while he screamed in agony. The silver lining in this story is that Lois turned out to have an unusually high tolerance for pain and a fighting spirit that viewed his treatment as just something that interfered with his play time. He remained determined to get through treatment so that he could get back to playing. While you may think that I have summarized this whole book, I assure you that I have not. All that I have mentioned happens very early in the book, and there are many more twists and curveballs in this book that I have been careful to leave out. A reader will find many surprises waiting.
At its heart, First Survivor is Mark Unger’s love story to his family. It has themes of optimism, resilience, persistence, and familial strength and love. I felt that I got to know all four of the Unger’s and went along with them on a frightening and harrowing journey. The descriptions of the various physicians involved were also very vivid and allowed me to feel that I was a silent member at the many medical discussions held. Mark stated that his motto was, “There are no dead ends, only new paths.” Mark went to remarkable lengths to find these new paths, and he has my greatest admiration for his efforts. There was nothing I disliked about this book; I read it in one sitting. However, I did experience a moral dilemma as I wondered if I could subject a child of mine to so many painful procedures when the success rate was so dismal. Ultimately, I sided with the Unger’s. How could I live with the guilt of letting my child die knowing that I had not done everything I possibly could have to allow him to live? I would have liked to know why the author waited so long to recount the story as there were sixteen years between the start of the book and its publishing. I suspect that the delay was due to the difficulty of dredging up painful memories, but I would really have liked an explanation for the delay from the author. The thing that I liked best about the book was the sense of realism and the ease of relating to the Unger family. As I got caught up in their day to day struggles, they began to feel like friends or neighbors. The book was well written and well edited. I found only a few errors in the book, and these did not interfere with the story. I am pleased to award this inspiring book 5 out of 5 stars/i] and heartily recommend it for anyone who likes “medical thrillers” as Unger categorizes his book.
******
First Survivor
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: First Survivor by Mark Unger
