Life and Work of a Scientist Hannah Gay - Essay Example

Hannah Gay Introduction Hannah Gay is a 59 year old acclaimed medical scientist whose work involves working with HIV patients especially children. Today, she is an HIV expert and an assistant professor within the department of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) (Ian). Gay origins are in Jackson, Florida where she was born and grew up in a family of two and loving parents. When they were grownups, her brother, Gregory Berry was an exemplary student who proceeded in earning a doctorate in medieval English at the prestigious Yale. This motivated Gay to pursue big dreams like her brother and she studied science and math. This specialization in her studies enabled her to reach the University of Mississippi at Oxford in which she majored in pre-med. She became the president of the club Pre-med Society and in the process she met Paul Gay and they began dating and later married. Gay is well-known for her contribution in the cure of an infant that was born HIV positive into a negative state. There is need to understand Gay’s early life, personal motivators, and her contribution to the cure of an infant from HIV infection (Le Coz). Early Years Hannah Gay grew up in Jackson, Florida where she was the youngest in a family comprising of two children. She had a desire to practice medicine even from an early age and this motivated her to pursue math and science in high school. Additionally, her older brother, Gregory Berry was doing well in medieval English course such that he was admitted to prominent Yale. She did not want to be overshadowed and therefore, pursued math and science so that she could join medicine since she was passionate about helping people. This focus in math and science led her to the University of Mississippi located in Oxford. This is where she majored in pre-med and her enthusiasm enabled her to be elected the president of Pre-Med Society at the University. It was in this university that Hannah met Paul Gay; they began dating and became good friends since. In the year 1978, Paul and Hannah got married and they have been together for the last thirty seven years while they are blessed with four children (Le Coz). Hannah Gay was exposed to Christian faith at an early age and this she says, has been a great influence in her life. Her mother was a faithful at the Southern Baptist church and while Gay was in her womb, she was part of the Woman’s Missionary Union Missions. Gay grew up attending the Southern Baptist Church and this drove her to learn about missions while she was still a young girl. Gay mentions that she participated in three major missions which included the Sunbeams Children’s Ministry, Girls in Action, and the Young Women’s Auxiliary. Gay believes that this exposure to Christian faith was part of her training as a servant to people. She claims that she prayed to God to give her guidance on what she need to do in life and was guided to a career in pediatrics. It is evident that Gay had a strong Christian faith and this is still a driving force in her life until today (Chandler). Gay and her husband Paul were passionate about religion and largely got involved in church affairs while still in college. It was after they were married and they started a family that their faith motivated them to travel to Africa; in 1987, Gay together with her family travelled to Ethiopia to work as foreign missionaries. It was also Gay’s wish and desire to teach at a medical school after completing her education at UMMC and that is what led her to Ethiopia. On reaching Ethiopia, it was a period of drought and towards the end of the civil war that had befallen the country. The Ethiopian government had also fallen and a new regime was about to take over the leadership of the country (Mott). These circumstances in Ethiopia made it difficult for her to pursue her missionary dreams and she could not even teach in a medical school. In addition, she had joined the language school but with the civil war and a new government coming they could not even complete. In the process the pediatric wards within the teaching school were closed in that period. A short time later, the medical school in Ethiopia was also closed as a result of the civil war and Gay could not actualize her dream of teaching in a medical school. However, Gay did not give up as she opened up an informal clinic that was serving mission employees in her own home. Many families and employees received her medical services in her own front porch and this proved to be a good start at enhancing a career in medicine. The family remained in Ethiopia for approximately six years where Paul acted as a mission treasurer and Hannah edited its publications. They went back to Jackson in 1994 so that their four children aged between 3-10 years could get quality education (Chandler). Early Education Hannah Gay began her early education at Wingfield High School where she graduated with good grades. She was a talented student involved in various science clubs in school and other extracurricular activities like drama. Gay did not have problems in school and graduated high school without any issues. After her admirable high school grades, Gay had the chance to pursue a medical career since she was passionate about. She had grown up with the faith that God had directed her to study medicine and especially to assist young children. It was this that led her to enroll in the University of Mississippi Medical Center to study medicine. She majored in pre-med and her influence was felt in this department such that she was elected the president of Pre-Med Society. This opportunity exposed her to the core details of medicine and assisted her to choose her career path (Mott). The UMMC became an important part of Gay’s life and she spent time learning the basics of surviving in the medical field. This is where she managed to get her undergraduate and medical degrees that shaped her decision to work with HIV infected children. The UMMC remained her home for many years and even today she still works there in the field of pediatric infectious diseases. She has a passion to work with children since she is a mother herself and her education background opened her eyes to the world of pediatrics (Mott). Early Start of Career Gay’s career began after she returned to Jackson, Mississippi from Ethiopia in 1994 in search of better education for her children. She found out about a part-time vacant at UMMC and she took the job to work in the HIV pediatric section. Gay declares that she took the position because it was part-time and if it was fulltime she would not have considered it since she had a family. However, fate had it that the position was only part-time for only two months but Gay had come to love the work she was doing at the HIV clinic and therefore, she remained in the job. Gay joined this department though she was not at all trained on issues of HIV, this is because during the years she was in school studying, the pediatric HIV did not exist in Florida State and therefore, she did not get a chance to learn about it. However, Gay believes that God had planned it for her to join the pediatric HIV clinic and this is how her faith and strength to assist the vulnerable children grew. It is clear that faith and religious convictions played a great role in defining the career path that Gay took (Blair). Her pediatric wing at UMMC is popularly known within the health facility and especially for its role in dealing with the children. She has worked in this area for the last two decades and her impeccable work and reputation speaks for itself. Gay has dedicated all her time in her job such that she begins work early in the morning and gets home late in the evening. She is on call 24 hours every day and dedicated to ensuring that her patients (children) receive the best care (Coghlan 14). Through her faith in God, Gay passes this to her young patients and uses unique methods to help them understand their conditions. Gay asserts that HIV is a complex issue within the society but she manages to explain it systematically to children so they understand why they require treatment. The more the children are able to understand, the easier it is they are able to accept taking the medications. Gay’s career goal is to minimize the number of children or babies infected with HIV during birth or breastfeeding to zero within Mississippi. She asserts that once this is achieved it would be an appropriate time for her to retire from medicine (FoxNews). Even in the midst of a demanding career, Gay does not slowdown in her daily activities; she lives a full life by engaging in her church choir and part of the Trace Baptist Church that is in Ridgeland. To advance her career she reads many medical books and also those in theology; moreover, she has an active life that involves nurturing her career as well as developing her spiritual life which she believes is core to her success in medicine (Blair). Career High Point Gay’s career high point became evident when a HIV positive mother gave birth in a countryside Mississippi clinic in 2010 to a premature baby. It became apparent that the mother was not going for prenatal checkups and therefore, did not know she was positive. She was not even receiving any treatment for her HIV infection, and this meant her baby was at risk of being infected. The baby was later transferred to the UMMC where Dr. Gay had to take charge of her only 30 hours after birth (Lupkin 1). Gay decided to immediately begin on an aggressive type of treatment routine using three strong drugs before even a test confirmed the baby was infected. She made this decision since she knew the baby had a high risk of being infected and needed treatment for survival. Dr. Gay went on with this treatment up to the beginning of 2012 when the child turned eighteen months because the mother stopped coming for appointments as directed by Gay. However, Gay and her team tracked the whereabouts of the mother as well as the child and found out that she had stopped giving the child HIV antiretroviral drugs beginning that same January. Gay decided to conduct some tests on the baby before offering any treatment while fully expecting the virus to be back in full swing. However, all the tests she did showed that the baby did not have any HIV virus which prompted her to bring in Luzuriaga from the University of Massachusetts and Persuad of the Johns Hopkins University located in Baltimore. Together they did a series of unique ultrasensitive tests which only showed traces of the genetic substance of the HIV virus which they believed could not rekindle into an infection. The child who by now was thirty months remained off the HIV drugs and is free of HIV up to date. This revelation was a big break for Dr. Gay, Luzuriaga, and Persuad and they became known and acclaimed for the medical success. This discovery also showed that Gay’s aggressive and immediate response to the child’s condition means that many babies can have a possible chance of treatment even after being born HIV positive. It is a discovery that allows for research to be conducted further understanding the possibilities that can be achieved in medicine especially regarding HIV infection (FoxNews). Opposition Dr. Hannah Gay has received opposition in regards to the steps she took to save the baby whom she assumed was infected with HIV. Many critics say that it was wrong for Gay to have exposed the baby to drugs even without confirming if she was infected. This is because the HIV antiretroviral drugs are strong drugs that have possible side effects to the baby. They could be toxic to a baby at such a young age and cause more damage than save a live. Other critics say that the baby could have turned out to be positive despite being born by a mother who did not take antiretroviral drugs (FoxNews). These drugs in such a case could have just been avoided but it turned out she was infected. In most cases, babies that get infected with HIV aids get this aggressive treatment six months after birth when their immune system can withstand such powerful drugs. However, Gay knew that he baby had high chances of HIV infection and proceeded with the treatment immediately (Coghlan 14). Gay took this decision because the risks for the baby were high and her survival depended on HIV drugs. The decision was a gusty call but it turned out to be correct since most cases of an HIV without the mother undergoing prenatal care and further, infected with aids results in high chances of the baby being infected (FoxNews). Legacy Dr. Gay has put up a legacy of a successfully treating a child that was infected with aids to live negatively. This legacy is a medical miracle and discovery that impacts the society in a positive way to rethink other methods of saving children born with HIV. It is evident that Gay hunch was right and this resulted in a legacy of curing the first baby from HIV aids. This means that the child is likely to grow free of HIV because of the wise decision that Gay took (Pollack and McNeil). Conclusion Dr. Hannah Gay is a 59 year old renowned scientist for her role in saving the first baby from HIV to live negatively. Today, she performs her duties as an HIV specialist and assistant professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She grew up in Jackson, Florida and went ahead to pursue pre-med in the University of Mississippi Medical Centre. Her career began when she went to Ethiopia as she set up an informal clinic to treat patients in her own front porch. She came back to Mississippi in 1994 and joined the pediatric wing of HIV patients and she has worked here since. She has put a legacy of being the first doctor to cure a HIV baby and allow the child to live negatively. Works Cited Blair, Leonardo. “Doctor Who 'Cured' Baby of HIV: 'Faith Affects Everything I Do'”, free republic. 05 April, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. Chandler, Diana. “Hannah Gay shares role of faith in HIV cure”, bpnews 28 March, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. < http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=39970> Coghlan, Andy. "HIV baby ‘cured’with triple blast of drugs." New Scientist 217.2907 (2013): 14. FoxNews. Doctor's 'gutsy' move led to baby's HIV cure, 06 March, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. < http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/03/06/doctor-gutsy-move-led-to-baby-hiv-cure/> Lupkin, Sydney. “What You Haven't Heard About the HIV Baby's 'Cure”', abcnews. 24 October, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. < http://abcnews.go.com/Health/doctors-longer-hiv-baby-cured/story?id=20671079> Le Coz, Emily. Dr. Hannah Gay, Who 'Cured' HIV-Infected Baby, Made 'Gutsy Call That Turned Out To Be Correct', 03 June, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. Mott, Ronni. ‘Standing Close By’ The JFP Interview with Dr. Hannah Gay, 16 October, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. Pollack, Andrew and McNeil, Donald. In Medical First, a Baby With H.I.V. Is Deemed Cured, New York Times. 03 March, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. < http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/health/for-first-time-baby-cured-of-hiv-doctors-say.html?_r=0> Ian, Sample. US doctors cure child born with HIV, theguardian. 4 March, 2013. Web. 13 November, 2013. < http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/03/us-doctors-cure-child-born-hiv> Read More