'Lyme in Rhyme': Children's book addresses Lyme disease

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[RLL] 'Lyme in Rhyme': Children's book addresses Lyme disease

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'Lyme in Rhyme': Children's book addresses Lyme disease

By Foust

NEWS-TIMES CORRESPONDENT

NEW MILFORD - Ticks. Just the thought of the bug dropping down on you and

quietly, unfelt, settling down for a meal is enough to give almost anybody

the willies.

For New Milford public health nurse Geri Rodda, it did more than that.

Knowing the dangers the blood-sucking parasite can pose as a carrier of Lyme

disease, Rodda, who never had any aspirations to be an author, set out to

educate those most susceptible to the disease by writing a children's book -

in rhyme.

As a child, Rodda was the kid on the block who tended to everyone's cuts and

bruises, and as a teen she took summer jobs as a nurse's aide in the local

hospital.

Attending nursing school, which she graduated from in 1968, was just a

natural progression, and Rodda took to it " like a duck to water. "

She has since worked in a number of nursing fields, including a nurse in an

intensive care nurse, school nurse, psychiatric nurse and home health care

nurse.

Eight years ago she joined the New Milford Visiting Nurse Association and

also became the public health nurse for New Milford.

As public health nurse, Rodda coordinates numerous community health

programs, including fall flu clinics, cholesterol screenings, hearing and

vision screenings and the Well Child Clinic. She also is involved in

pandemic flu planning and Tuberculosis surveillance.

And come springtime, Rodda, a registered nurse, finds herself talking about

Lyme Disease.

The bacterial infection in transmitted by the black-legged tick, commonly

known as the deer tick. The disease often first shows itself as a bull's

eye-shaped rash, followed by headaches, fever, fatigue and other flu-like

symptoms.

If left untreated, joint swelling, cardiac abnormalities and nervous system

and cognitive disorders may develop.

" Connecticut has one of the highest rates in the U.S. and it's really a

growing concern. More and more people are coming down with the disease. The

deer population has grown so there are more deer in our back yards so in

Connecticut, with all our woods and our hiking and such, we're much more

exposed to it, " Rodda said.

For the past three years, Fairfield and Litchfield counties have had among

the most reports of Lyme disease in the state, according to the state of

Connecticut Department of Health.

In 2003, Fairfield County reported 335 cases of the disease, with 276 cases

reported in Litchfield County. That year 1,403 cases were reported

statewide.

In 2004, 330 cases were reported in Fairfield County, and 283 cases were

reported in Litchfield County, with 1,348 cases reported statewide.

In 2005, Fairfield County reported 426 cases and Litchfield County reported

299 cases. Statewide, 1,810 cases were reported.

Rodda said that those at highest risk are children.

" That has a lot to do with the fact that they're shorter and lower to the

ground and they roll in the leaves and sit on logs, " she said.

Young school-age children are especially at risk because they are at an age

where they can bathe and dress themselves, meaning parents have fewer

opportunities to discover ticks.

Yet, when it came time to talk to kids, she found there was very little

information tailored to them.

So two years ago, Rodda decided fill that gap by writing a book.

The result, " Lyme in Rhyme, " an 82-page book illustrated by Winsted artist

Jillian Zampaglione, was released in April.

It's probably safe to say that Rodda's book is one of the few - if not the

only - book to put a Seussian spin on a blood-sucking parasite.

" My goal in writing the book was to empower (the children) and give them the

knowledge they need to prevent or detect Lyme disease, and I thought a

rhyming format would be an enjoyable way to broach a subject which could be

very scary to a child and at the same time keep them focused, " she said.

The rhymes came to her while walking the dog, swimming and exercising.

" When you're trying to tell a story in rhyme it's not that easy, " she said.

" You have to find the right word. "

Once she got started, though, it was hard at times to get the rhymes to

stop - even while she slept - forcing her to have a notebook handy even in

bed. "

A lukewarm response from publishers, though, meant that getting the book

into print wasn't going to be so easy.

Rodda refused to quite, and, eager to get the information out to children as

quickly as possible, she formed Pumpkin Hill Productions and used her own

money to publish the book.

Of the 1,000 copies she had printed, about 500 have already been sold.

Full of bold, colorful illustrations, tick facts and child-friendly

information on how to prevent and detect Lyme disease, the book has already

garnered numerous accolades, including a recommendation from C. Ben Beard,

the chief of vector borne disease at the Center for Disease Control and

Prevention.

The book also has been well-received by physicians, health directors and

Lyme disease associations across the country, in Canada and in the United

Kingdom.

Locally, the book was purchased by the New Milford Hospital, which

distributed it to a number of local physicians and members of the community

as part of its Lyme disease education program.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell even proclaimed May " Lyme Disease Awareness Month. "

More importantly, the book has been well received by children.

" I had a comment from a third grade teacher who said that rhyme makes

reading nonfiction fun, and that's the kind of response I'm getting from

children and parents alike, " said Rodda.

She hopes that interest turns into action.

" Early detection and prevention are paramount. The early Lyme Disease is

treated, the more easily it's cured, and the sooner a tick is removed, the

better off children are, " Rodda said. " Hopefully, tick checks will be as

automatic as children putting a seatbelt on when they get in a car. "

Though Rodda is busy promoting her new book and educating the public about

Lyme disease, she's already thinking of putting a poetic touch to another

illness.

" I think my next book will be " About the Flu and You, " she said. " I'll get

my husband earplugs so he doesn't have to hear me go around the house and

rhyme. "

" Lyme in Rhyme " by Geri Rodda is available for $7.95 at wicks Books,

50 Bank St. in New Milford, and online at www.tahd.org.

© 2006 by The News-Times unless otherwise noted.