Alice Ball

It was 1915. Alice Ball was a young chemist in Hawaii. She was just 23.

At the time, people suffering from leprosy were often separated from their families and sent into isolation. Chaulmoogra oil was being used as a treatment, but it was difficult to administer and often caused severe side effects.

Alice was asked to find a better way.

Through her research, she developed a method that made the oil’s active components injectable and far more usable as a treatment. What later became known as the Ball Method gave many patients the chance to leave isolation and return to their families.

Alice never got to see the impact of her work.

She fell ill and died the following year.

She was only 24.

After her death, her work continued. But for some time, the credit did not carry her name. Only later was her contribution acknowledged, and many more years passed before her story received the recognition it deserved.

I found myself thinking about Alice long after I had finished reading about her.

“𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻?”

#StoriesThatMatter #HumanStories #Inspiration