Maura Fern: The Hunger Games and a Look Back at 11 Months

The movie Hunger Games was just released into theaters this weekend. Watching television trailers of Katniss Everdeen evokes memories of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, eleven months ago when Maura was first admitted as a premie for her infant epilepsy.

It was about this time last year that I was scheduled to bring my middle school students down to the Scholastic Book Fair. I always try my very best to engage with my students to learn about what they are reading. Rooting for book recommendations to buff both my classroom and personal library.

A few of my students raved about The Hunger Games, and another handful had decided to purchase the book that day. To be perfectly honest, I typically tend to avert serial science-fiction and fantasy young adult novels like the plague, as most books are poorly written excuses for movie and merchandise tie-ins.

Adolescent fandom doesn't necessarily hinge on the merits of a book's literary qualities.Team Jacob or Team Edward anyone? Even Harry Potter's saccharine storytelling makes me feel nauseous within the first few chapters. Sadly, for every successfully franchise there are dozen other clones cloying for that same level of financial success.

So it came as some small surprise when I first picked up The Hunger Games off the bookshelf. Within the first few lines, I was immediately hooked on the quality of writing. A YA book that didn't appear to be dumbed down. Yay! I purchased the book from the Scholastsic Fare and set it aside for later reading.

Just a few weeks later Caroline was admitted to Virtua for prolonged medical observation due to bleeding with a placenta previa.

There wasn't much to do at that time other than keep my wife company and try to find the sweet spot in those clumsy hospital recliners, so I picked up the Hunger Games and plowed through, cover to cover, in a single sitting. The book helped me take my mind off the emergency of present situation, and helped pass the time.

So when Maura was later admitted to CHOP, I scoured every local library for a copy of Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The local bookstores were only carrying hardback, and I was reluctant to pay several times the price when a softcover would do as nicely. Fortunately a co-worker was kind enough to lend me her copies. I read through both books in a total of three days.

Somewhere deep in my mind, I wanted to associate my daughter's struggle against epilepsy with Katniss Everdeen's fight in the games. It's not like the conflicts were even remotely comparable. No. Although at times it felt that Maura was bound to CHOP like Katniss was confined to the arena.

Rather, I needed for my daughter to have enough toughness to endure multiple seizures a day and all of the medical tests and interventions that followed. The Hunger Games' Katniss appeared like a natural parallel: a strong female protagonist whose ability to survive hinged on her inner-strength, intuition, and ingenuity.

I needed for my own daughter to grow strong enough to thrive, and begin to resist the onset of her epileptic seizures. She needed to become her own Katniss.

The past year hasn't been easy for our family; rather, it's been pocked with developmental delays and the occasional seizure. Though, good progress on all fronts. Although Maura's future with epilepsy is still uncertain, at least my wife and I aren't crushed with feelings of overwhelming despair.

Watching my middle school students energetically talk about the books and movie comes with the mix of bitter-sweetness. On one level, I'm thrilled they are as excited about the books as I once was (and still am). Though it comes as a constant reminder of Maura's struggle in life.