Meningitis Books

I think that this book gives perfect detail. It has many pages about meningitis and the symptoms.

This true life story brought a full expierence of emotions to the reader. It captured the professional and personal side of the health care providers as they strived to help the patient and family. You feel yourself willing on the patient, doctors, nurses and the family as they all struggled emotionally and physically to overcome this devastating decease. This was a must read for our whole family.

In 1997,six-year-old Andrew Bateson came down with a severe case of bacterial meningitis,which sent him and his family
into a frightening ordeal.Mark Patinkin has brilliantly captured their tale of recovery and redemption in this haunting book.Through his powerful,moving,and beautiful writing,the reader really gets to know,understand,and sympathize with the
Batesons.Make no mistake-he does not present them as heroic,
noble "goodies" in any way.We see how Andrew's illness nearly
tears the family apart.But then Patinkin eloquently shows how
it also brought them together again and closer than ever.The Batesons are an inspiration to all of us."Up And Running" is a remarkable achievement.Bravo!

Mark Patinkin, the author of Up and Running, makes his living as a feature syndicated columnist with articles appearing several times a week for The Providence Journal, the main newspaper in his home State of Rhode Island. It is my opinion that he is known for writing humorous pieces about everyday life, with a heavy emphasis placed on his own personal experiences. Occasionally, however, he will broach a serious topic with an equally serious tone.

Mr. Patinkin has been a presence in our State for as long as I have been married, which is 25 years. I have never met or spoken with Mr. Patinkin, although I have tried to contact him twice. Apparently, Mr. Patinkin is a very busy man for he never responded; either that or he breathes a different air then I.

I purchased Up and Running because I am a father of a teenage girl with special needs. My wife and I adopted our daughter fourteen years ago. She was born with a rather rare chromosome disorder. However, it wasn't until recently that the chromosome abnormality was discovered. The medical testing necessary was simply not sophisticated enough years ago.

I painfully identify with the Mr. and Mrs. Bateson and the emotional rollercoaster that life now brings them. At the same time, I admire the courage and fortitude of their son, Andrew Bateson, a young man who was somehow able to turn life's lemons into life's lemonade.

Unfortuately, I was disappointed by Mark Patinkin's writing style in this book. While young Andrew Bateson's story is quite moving and inspirational, the writing is not. Perhaps Mr. Patinkin's style is better suited for the columns he pens, rather than the books he authors. Maybe this is the reason why Up and Running has not become a bestseller for surely Andrew Bateson is a champion!

This book was of personal interest to me because we have been neighbors of the Bateson family since Andrew was 9, three years after his illness. We have witnessed the way he lets absolutely nothing stop him, and we have known his parents to be very positive people. Mark Patinkin's story-telling style is riveting: it is easy to feel that you are walking through the experience with the Bateson family, sharing the gamut of their emotions - hope, fears, anger, questions, and faith. The honesty and transparency of this book will be a help and support to readers who are going through trials.

The author does an excellent job of describing Andrew's temperament and personality both before and after the illness. It is fascinating to note that his God-given emotional makeup has been a key ingredient in his recovery and in the way in which he embraces life. Of course, the perseverance of his family - for example, his father exercising his fingers every night for a year and his mother's willingness to drive him to Boston every day for physical therapy if that were necessary - and support and prayers of friends have also been major contributors to his triumph.

I had many favorite moments in this book, but one of the best is the description of Andrew teaching himself to roller blade by hanging onto the picket fence in front of the house. He persevered in the summer heat, picket by picket, until he was "up and running." He hasn't stopped since!

This book will inspire anyone to fight to overcome obstacles in their life and to focus on all that is possible with faith and determination. As this book gains publicity, Andrew, now 14, will be a role model and hero for many people, physically disabled or not.

Thanks to Mark Patinkin for having the vision to write this book and to the family for allowing him to tell their compelling story.

Elizabeth M. Norfrey

There's nothing more refreshing than reading a true story told well.
That's exactly what you get when you read "Up and Running."

Andrew was only six years old when he came down with the disease - setting in within twelve hours, shutting down his vital organs, covering him with purple and black boils and sores, and eventually causing both of his legs to be amputated. The astounding part is not just that he survived, but that he never stopped fighting.

I never thought I could imagine a fraction of what it would be like to see someone you love suddenly fall ill with a life-threatening disease like bacterial meningitis, and fight to recover and begin a new life. But after reading Mark Patinkin's telling of that very story, I feel like I was there every step of the way: standing over young Andrew's hospital bed with the doctors, worrying and fretting next to his parents Rebecca and Scott, praying alongside his family members and friends.

The book is told simply and honestly. It doesn't heroify Andrew - more than he deserves - or his family: at times they do lose faith, get angry, and want to quit. And the book doesn't sugar-coat the seriousness of the illness. At times I was more than disgusted to be reading some of the descriptions of his condition, surguries, or painful physical therapy sessions. And many times I laughed out loud at the pure kid-ness of Andrew's personality and some of the things he said. This was the truth of the situation. This was real, and it feels like it happened not to a distant person in a far-off place, but to your neighbor, your playmate, your friend.

I would recommend this book even if you think you're not the biggest fan of non-fiction. "Up and Running" reads like a story; but it's even more powerful because it's a true one.

Reviewed by Beckie Sheffield for Flamingnet Book Reviews
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Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

Walter Moseley's "Futureland" was excellent. This is the type of scifi I want to read. I enjoy stories about how societies fall apart and implode. This is the only type of scifi that I enjoy. But according to the other reviewers here "Futureland" is not scifi because it deals with social issues. If you want to read about "post-apocolyptic"(sp?) America then I highly recommend it. For all of the racists out there (see other reviews), who are "tired of reading about Blacks" I say don't buy the book if you don't want it.

I just finished reading Futureland by Walter Mosley and it was a decent addition to the Mosley line. I think that Mosley is much better at writing mystery novels (i.e. The Easy Rawlins Novels) but I have to respect an author that is not afraid to cross genres. At first I was confused and put off by the first couple stories but as I continued to read and catch the cross-over aspect along with the underlying theme of continued racial genocide by radical groups I couldn't put it down. I also noticed that the author addresses issues related to stagnated creativity, destroyed individuality, and social reform which can result from a highly technologically advanced world that doesn't bother to ask the question; "Is this advance morally correct?" When you read this book be patient, I'm sure that by the end of the last page you'll ask yourself some of the same questions. This Sci-Fi book is not so much about the action as its about the question.

One of the best storytellers around, Mosley presents characters that burn. He chose to write a book of interconnected stories so that the protagonist of each story blends into the supporting cast of the others, making the collection even more enjoyable. This is a kindness to the reader, because one story isn't enough time spent with stellar dudes like Ptolemy Bent and Folio Johnson.

if the 'blacks good, whitey bad' simplistic racism didn't get in the way. you see it starting already today, not black and white but with the growing underclass - blacks & whites, workers not just giving up their rights at the workplace door but beyond (smoke, high cholesterol, you won't be hired, home visits, etc.? ), govt telling you more and more what to do, less and less autonomy...and less ability to fight back. hey, die from being tasered, and its basically your fault. a vision of the future?

Mosley has a style that is unlike any other. He is always extremely poignant, without being too intense. As a matter of fact, one can miss some of his most profound statements if not looking for them! Always enjoy Walter! He never disappoints.