Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I met a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother. He had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies against the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be will to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza." During the transfusion, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled seeing the color returning to he cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" The boy had misunderstood the doctor because he was young ; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood. I was a little shocked to see how seriously the boy wanted to save his sister's life. But thanks to this little teacher, I've learned what is important in helping others in a true sense. Courage.
Buffaloes originally came from North America, and at one time (only a hundred years ago or so), they walked around the plains freely in huge herds. But in the 1860's, people began to build railroads across the plains. Hunters killed many buffaloes for the workers' food. The buffalo was large, clumsy, and easy to hunt. With a rifle a single hunter could kill as many as one hundred and fifty buffaloes some day. One of the hunters, William Cody, was named Buffalo Bill because he killed over 4,280 buffaloes in a single year. In about the same time, leather factories in the U.S. killed millions of buffaloes for leather. People also began to hunt buffaloes just for fun. By 1900 the number of buffaloes became less than one thousand. Today, people are trying to preserve buffaloes. But there are only about 10,000 buffaloes in the U.S. The animals walk around in protected land in a few small herds.
Art experts have been trying to learn what causes an artist to paint the way he or she does for a long time. In recent years doctors have joined art experts in this study, and they have developed some ideas about what influences an artist's paintings. For example, many art experts have wondered why Vincent van Gogh often used so much yellow in his paintings. They also have questioned why he painted unusual-looking circles of light around many objects. Some art experts believe these techniques were the result of his creative imagination. Others say he suffered from an eye disease that prevented him from seeing things clearly. But an American doctor, Thomas Lee, says that van Gogh painted the way he did because he was suffering from the effects of the drug digitalis. Doctors use digitalis today to treat heart disease. But in the nineteenth century digitalis was used to treat mental sickness. Van Gogh had some mental sicknesses. Dr.Lee says the digitalis, made from the foxglove plant, caused a person to see circles of light suddenly appear and disappear in front of him. Dr.Lee says van Gogh may have suffered the effects of digitalis only temporarily and then late used the effects in his paintings.