HAVE A CUP OF JOE WITH JOE – Dr. Bill Wall’s Book For Children: the ant who needed a transplant
On December 8, 2023, retired physician and surgeon Dr. Bill Wall visited his home town of Tecumseh, Ontario to spend time with 40 children from two grade three classes at St. Pius X Catholic Elementary School.
He read to the children from his recently published book, the ant who needed a transplant. More on the book later, but first a little information on Dr. Wall.
After completing his elementary and secondary school education in Tecumseh, Wall enrolled in the University Of Western Ontario School Of Medicine. He graduated in 1970 and did his residency as a physician and surgeon at London’s Victoria Hospital.
At the time of the opening of University Hospital in London in 1972, Dr. Calvin R. Stiller, Chair of Surgery, promoted the vision of an organ donation and transplant program. Stiller mentored Wall and helped send him to Cambridge, England to study under Professor Sir Roy Calne, the pioneering surgeon who led the first liver transplant operation in Europe in 1968.
Later Wall returned to London, Ontario and in 1977 joined the transplant team at University Hospital, a team that grew to national and international prominence. In his 40-year career, he is credited with being part of the team performing 1,855 liver transplants.
In his retirement, Wall continues to be a zealous advocate for organ donation and transplants and has worked with others to develop and implement educational curricula throughout all Canadian school boards. One Life . . . Many Gifts (OneLifeManyGifts.com) is a curriculum resource educating senior secondary school students about the vital importance of organ donation and transplantation.
Dr. Bill Wall authored his book, the ant who needed a transplant, for children aged five to nine from kindergarten to grade five. It was published by FriesenPress and released in May 2023.
His two grandchildren — Ruby and Dexter — helped review his early drafts. With their feedback, Wall became convinced that the complex subject matter of organ donation and transplantation can be understood by children, if presented in the right format.
“It’s a serious subject so I told the story as a fantasy about ants to ‘lighten’ the nature of the book,” he says. “My goal was to get children reading the book to see themselves in the characters.”
The story blends together themes of compassion, empathy, and altruism, and is meant to help children learn how an act of kindness can save a life.
Nowhere in the book is there any mention of organs or anatomy, yet as Dr. Bill Wall points out: “It is still an accurate portrayal of the real-life experience of donation and transplantation.”
The story centres on a loving and active Ant family. Papa Ant becomes extremely ill with a sick heart and could possibly die. He eventually receives news from Doctor Jane Ant that he can receive a new heart from a person who sadly died in an accident.
After receiving the new heart from the donor, Papa Ant returns to playing with his young children, like he did before. Wanting to express their appreciation to the donor’s family, the Ant family children, little Russell and Sophie, create a special card for the donor’s family that reads: “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”