MEDICAL
INFORMATION
FOR KIDS
INFORMATION
FOR KIDS
LATEST NEWS
01 Feb 2010 | Press Release
WHAT IS MEDIKIDZ?
It's a venture aimed at helping kids to understand their illnesses or those that people close to them may be suffering from. It includes comic books, a website and a charitable foundation.
COMIC BOOKS
The Medikidz comics focus on conditions from epilepsy, asthma and diabetes, to allergies, leukaemia and being overweight. There's also a book on breast cancer for kids whose mothers have the disease.
They feature a gang of five superheroes - the Medikidz - who represent different parts of the body (such as Skinderella, who can morph into a skeleton).
Children are taught about their own bodies, illnesses and treatments by going on a tour through Mediland, a planet shaped like a human body, hosted by the often hilarious Medikidz.
The books will be available in New Zealand in a couple of months.
WEBSITE
The site includes a large library of medical terms and videos that explain everything from body parts and illnesses to tests and medicine in child-friendly language.
An online chat room lets users contact children ail over the world who have the same health issues. And it's moderated too, so kids can't get up to mischief. The website is www.medikidz.com.
CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
The Medikidz Foundation has been set up to help kids in Third World countries. Not only will it give them Medikidz books that can help them understand illnesses like HIV and tuberculosis, but it eventually plans to distribute medical supplies and set up clinics to treat young patients. The foundation is partly funded by profits from the sale of Medikidz comic books.
HOW MEDIKIDZ EXPLAINS...
Cancer means cells behaving badly. The cells don't grow properly and grow out of control. They go where they are not supposed to, by invading nearby parts of your body. EPILEPSY is what you get if the neurons in your brain start sending lots of mixed-up messages. This causes an electrical storm in your brain, which makes your body do things it's not meant to do, like shake or go stiff. This is called a seizure.
A KIWI DOCTOR'S BRAINWAVE
It all started six years ago with an eight- year-old girl called Wendy who wanted to understand why she had seizures.
Her mum asked staff at Starship Hospital where she could get child- friendly information about epilepsy but nobody could point her in the right direction.
Medical Student Kim Chilman-Blair, who was working part-time as a nursing assistant at the hospital while doing her training, was bothered by the fact that she couldn't give Wendy anything that would easily explain her condition.
"I went online but there was nothing written for kids - it was all targeted at parents," recalls Kim. "I thought maybe I should write something myself."
So began a project that has turned into Medikidz, a worldwide enterprise that will hopefully help millions of sick children.
Because of Wendy, Kim - who had done a degree in pharmacology then worked as an academic medical writer before training to be a doctor- attempted to write a book explaining epilepsy to children but found it difficult.
Then a friend with a background in Publishing suggested that to successfully get the message across to kids, the book should be in comic form.
Kim realised that a series of graphic books on a variety of conditions was a seriously good concept. "I couldn't let it go, I had to do something."
As soon as she finished her medical training, she enrolled in a Masters of Entrepreneurship at the University of Otago so she could learn how to turn her idea into reality. She managed to study while working full-time as a paediatrician and also won a $20,000 challenge to get her ideas off the ground.
Eventually, she put her medicai career on hold to concentrate on the Publishing venture, by now called Medikidz, and joined forces with a friend from medical school, Dr Kate Hersov. Kate's husband Rob is a UK-based investor who was keen to help get Medikidz up and running and he convinced Kim to move to England to turn it into an international business.
There are now 12 comic books covering a variety of illnesses and at least 12 more will be published this year. They've been co-written by Kim and John Taddeo, a former writer for Marvel comics.
Everything written for Medikidz is checked by leading consultants to make sure the information is accurate. As well as the comic books, there are also pamphlets written in the same style explaining medical procedures such as MRIs, X-rays and CT scans, along with a website containing even more information.
Medikidz had its official UK launch in September of last year and has been supported by a range of people from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Black Eyed Peas singer Will.I.Am. It is expected to launch here in May.
Kim, who's now based in London, says she pinches herself when shethinks about how Medikidz has taken off. "I've been blown away by the support we've had from ali overthe globe. Top consultants have helped us out for free and doctors have been saying to us, 'Where have you been all our lives?'
"They often don't have the time to sit down with kids and explain everything in language they can understand. And it makes a huge difference to kids if they fully understand their condition and treatment. They won't be so scared."
Medikidz is going to keep Kim busy for the foreseeable future but she's looking forward to returning to New Zealand to work as a paediatrician again. "I miss the patients and I want to finish my surgical training," she says. Her ultimate goal is to work for the Medikidz Foundation in Third World countries, treating children there.
"I've always felt that was my life calling and hopefully through Medikidz I'll be able to do that one day."