David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

into their livers and spleens, putting
them in extraordinary pain. They would
turn over in their beds and get terrible
bruises. Even a nosebleed was a
potentially fatal event. You’d squeeze
the child’s nose and put ice on it. That
wouldn’t work. You’d pack gauze into
the child’s nostrils. That wouldn’t work.
You’d call in an ear, nose, and throat
specialist who would go in through the
mouth and pack the nasal passage from
behind with gauze—which then had to
be pulled forward into the nose. The
idea was to apply pressure on the blood
vessels from inside the nasal cavity. You
can imagine how painful that was for the
child. Plus, it rarely worked, so you’d