It was the day after Christmas when I received an email: ‘Thank you so much for the book! It brought me to tears.’ It was from my doctor in America, the one who had played a pivotal role in my recovery.
The journey that led to this moment began after a car accident left me with severe injuries. Alongside a concussion and whiplash, he identified a CSF leak—a condition I had never even heard of before. For eight long months, I was confined to bed, lying flat to minimize the loss of brain fluid.
In those quiet, solitary hours, a story began to take shape in my mind. It was a children’s book. While lying flat, I wrote the story, illustrated the pictures, and eventually published it on Amazon in both Dutch and English. I dedicated the book to the two doctors who had given me my life back: one who discovered the leak and the other who managed to repair it.
When I read the rest of the email, I was touched by his words. ‘I’ll be buying copies of the book to keep in the clinic and give out to leaking parents who have small children. Thank you for creating such a treasure.’
I wrote back to thank him, and he shared even more news. The other doctor retired shortly after my surgery. He was also deeply moved by the dedication in the book. ‘I texted Dr. Siker about the book. He’s on his way to Australia for a 4-week vacation, but he felt so honored by your book that I was able to put the bug in his ear that if he wanted to do some more patches, we could work out a way of sending them to him again. Fingers crossed. :)’
How incredible is it that a simple book could inspire such a ripple effect? That day, I was reminded again of the power of storytelling—and how the pen can truly make a difference.