The authors conceived of this work following the tragic illness that befell their second grandson, Kevin Sean Mansfield, in 2018.
Doctors and nurses worked feverishly to determine what had afflicted Kevin, then 18, but they and Kevin's parents did not know the cause of his possibly life-threatening condition. Finally, tests confirmed that Kevin had suffered initially from a strain of influenza that morphed into encephalitis, a potentially deadly swelling or inflammation of the brain, only the second such case reported in the United States! Unconscious and unresponsive, Kevin lay comatose for eight days. While the medical personnel attending him were not confident he would survive, it was day-to-day and minute-to-minute with Kevin's mother never leaving his hospital room for six weeks. After three weeks, Kevin, with his dedicated mother by his side, opened his eyes and emerged from the coma.
