Comic book “We'll make it” - Sanofi

we'll make it
Author : Pierre GENTON
Artist : Vincent RINGLER

Pierre Genton is a neurologist and epileptologist from Marseille, France. He is the author of several scientific articles and books
on epilepsy and, with the association “Santé Sud” and with Sanofi Access to Medicines, he is involved in the training of doctors
on epilepsy in developing countries.
Vincent Ringler is a painter with numerous interests. His artwork has been the subject of several exhibitions. He has focused all
his energy and talent on this comic strip.

THIS IS a story that is almost true. it takes place in the great
african continent where there are
large cities, small villages and
many children and teenagers
full of life, energy and hope.
THIS IS THE TOWN
WHERE I LIVE!
but i like to go to
the village to my
grandmother’s.
let’s turn
the page...

Like EVERY YEAR, LAMINE sPends his holidays in the village. He is glad to get away from the city, his school, the noise... and to see his grandma
and his friends.
2

You could say hello !!
We have a surprise
for you.
3

we’ll show you
our new pitch.
4
First I must leave my
luggage at
grandma’s.
HARRY
CENTRAL BACK
JULES
CENTER
you can go, i’ll
take care of it.
SEYDOU
CENTER FORWARD
DANIEL
REFEREE
JOSEPH
RIGHT WING
SEE YOU
TONIGHT, GRAN.
YUSUF
GOALKEEPER

yeah right, dream
on FATOU!
wow this pitch is
really great !
but not all children join in the fun.
5

6
shall we start or what?
who’s that?
that’s keifa.
he’s sick, we mustn’t
go near him.

THE DAYS fly by when
you are having fun.
It’s time to go home.
why can’t I play
soccer with the
others?
you need to brush up
your skills guys. i’ll
coach you
tomorrow.
because you might fall
and hurt yourself.
Yes MuM.
come, let’s go home
and eat.
7

8
He has fits.
one day he fell into a
fire. That’s why he has
burns on his body.
gran, what’s
wrong with
keifa?
there are evil
spirits in his head. It’s a family curse. you mustn’t go near
him because when he falls he drools and you might catch it. his
poor mother, we try to help her, we give some food. Until this year he
practically never left the house.
i didn’t know there
was such a thing! we
don’t have that in
the city.

you know, KEIFA isn’t the only one.
there are two older ones with the
same problem in the village
across the river.
but we mustn’t
talk about this. mind you, it could
happen to you too.
nice one
FATOU, you got
me there!!
right, i’m off to bed!
bye everyone, see you
tomorrow.
9

the holidays are over, lamine is back home in the city with his parents. It’s time to go back to school.
10

HEY LAMINE!
let’s go together ? how were your
holidays, lamine?
take your book and go to
exercise on page 18. Hurry
up the day is
nearly over.
the best ever,
by far!
11

12
are you with
us now?
you were making
a funny face. ... what did you say?

you two over
there, stop
chatting!!
LAMINE, what
did i just
say? i don’t
remeMber, ma’am.
MuM.. something
weird happened
to me.
I had a sort of
blackout, i couldn’t
hear anything.
i won’t say
anything this time. you
may go now, see you
tomorrow.
it’s nothing, dear.
you’re probably tired.
Go get a snack
13

14
your platE
please.
MMM...
smells yummy!

thank you for coming.
we are very worried we
don’t know what
to do.
go get the nurse
next door. she should be
home from work.
move aside please.
i want to examine
Lamine.
why are you
looking at me
like that?
it’s like a blackout.
it happened already at
school today.
in the village there was
a boy who also was having
blackouts.
don’t talk
nonsense.
it’s not his blood
pressure, you must
take him to a brain
specialist.
15

Lamine has stopped going to school. His family is worried. a few days later he has an appointment in the hospital.
16
is it your first
time here?
yes and you?

I come every year for
tests. they look after me
because i’ve had fits.
Mum i’m fed up
waiting.
i’m alright now. i take
pills, that’s all. yeah but me i’m
fine, there’s nothing
wrong with me.
when i’m older i’m
going to be a doctor,
and you?
Me too lamine me too.
let’s be patient for a
little longer.
I don’t know
yet...
FOOTBALL player,
or prime minister...
we’ll see.
come in please.
17

LAMINE has seizures. these are probably
short epileptic seizures that make him lose
consciousness for a few seconds. we must
confirm the diagnosis with a test called an
18
ELECTROENCePHALOGRAM.
i’m DOCToR GAMINA. sit
down and tell me what’s
going on.
Lamine’s mother tells the doctor
what has been happening.
the doctor asks many questions.
whether there are other cases in
the family, whether lamine is doing
well at school,...
this test, the EEG; records the
electrical activity of the brain and
can generally confirm that
the person has epilepsy.
doctor LEOPOLD SOUABI
will EXAMINE you.
right young man the
nurse will take you in.
the neurological
examination is
normal.
... no PROBLEM...

LAMINE, there’s no reason
to be scared and NO, we’re
not going home yet !
don’t move and listen
to what you’re told.
it’s here, see. it’s a little
bit scary but it isn’t
painful.
open your
eyes.
close your
eyes.
breathe
deeply.
19

20
look!!
Mum, i had another
one, didn’t I?
what’s your
name?
it’s
nothing,
dear, i’m
here.
it’s done!!
go back to the doctor now.
that’s exactly what he
did at home !!
right young man, you had
an absence during the
recording.
it’s an
absence, ma’am, you can
see it clearly on the
screen.

an ABSENCE is a SIMPLE
loss of CONTACT. it is caused by an
electrical discharge in the brain.
it isn’t fatal and
it isn’t contagious.
now we two have to
talk about your everyday
life.
i can’t play soccer
any more, can I?
Of course you can. you
are going to lead a
completely normal life.
Make sure that you work
hard at school.
but my son isn’t sick! he’s
intelligent.
we never had that in the family.
you will study
hard and get a
good job.
it has nothing to do with
being intelligent or not.
epilepsy is like any other
disease and it is
very treatabale.
actually, i have some
good news...
and some
bad news!!
21

first the good
news : you don’t have
anything serious and
there is no need
for other tests.
22
the other news : you have to take some
medicine, one or two tablets every day.
you’ll have to take this treatment for a
long time... for several
years at least.
hello dear we’re coming
home... yes we feel better.
everthing is going
to be ok.
i feel better now.
lamine will take the
treatment and we won’t
have to worry anymore.
i promise mum
i won’t cause
trouble anymore.
i hope the doctor was
telling the truth and
lamine will be alright.

After these difficult
times life gets back to normal
and the weeks go by.
Lamine takes his medication
and goes back to school.
so you’re better
now you’ve been to
the hospital?
yep, i just have to
take my tabets every
day, that’s all.
you see this pupil
over there? I have the
impression that he had
epileptic attacks but
now he’s fine, he seems
to be completely
normal.
23

to tell the truth, i’ve
never been totAlly happy
about this treatment.
24
at the market, yesterday,
a woman told me that we
couldn’t leave Lamine like
this, that we have to chase
away the evil spirits.
but lamine is doing
rather well, isn’t he?
what are you
doing in
town ?
I’m here because i am a
friend of the family. I’m
telling you, we have to
immediately stop
poisoning lamine
with these
drugs.
that’s not the point.
we must do as
people say.

it’s this necklace
that you need!
luckily, I have
everything we
need here.
but everything was
rather fine with the
medicines
come on
son!
now you’ll be
well protected!
the family puts its trust in the necklace and lamine
stops taking his medication.
25

a few days later, on the way to school .
26

find his parents
and get them
here
27

at the end of
the corridor,
room 12.
28
WHERE IS
MY SON
LAMINE?
your son had an epileptic
seizure. he must see
a specialist.
doctor gamina is at a
conference. I called doctor
souabi, his assistant. he’ll
see you in the
EEG room.
doctor they’re here at
last. we can start
the test.
are you his mother ?
come in please.

see, doctor, he
must have had quite
a seizure!!
so it’s agreed: you take your
medicines and we’ll see each
other in a year’s time if
everything is
all right.
ok!!
you know, you are very lucky,
there are lots of children
with epilepsy who can’t
get treatment.
we weren’t told that he could
have seizures like that. and we
had to chase away
the evil spirits.
you saw that lamine was doing
well with the treatment, what in
heaven made you stop it?
you are not the first ones unfortunately.
he has to take the treatment and should
never stop it without medical advice.
yes... like
keifa !
29

the months go by, lamine takes his treatment and is doing great. he takes the early morning bus to the village for his holidays, with his mum.
30

we have a game
against the big
village in
two weeks.
well, we’ll
show them !
my
darling
grandson!
... and my girl,
how wonderful!
you know, mother,
lamine’s problems
are over.
I was so worried.
you know that
there’s a little
boy called
keifa here who
has the same
problem.
so how is your
soccer team
going on ?
31

LAMINE TOLD ME. I’D
LIKE TO MEET HIM.
32
I THINK THAT YOUR SON HAS
SOME HEALTH PROBLEMS.
LAMINE, GO PLAY WITH YOUR
FRIENDS. TAKE KEIFA
WITH YOU.
HELLO I’M
LAmine’S
MOTHER.
YOU SEE, MY SON’S EPILEPSY
IS TREATABLE AND HE’S
FINE NOW.

my keifa hasn’t
been lucky.
the other children
were not allowed
to play with him.
when he was a baby, he
had a high fever and
had convulsions for
several days.
I thought i was going
to lose him.
he’s cursed. there’s no prayer or potion that can help him.
he has to get
treatment. let’s go
and see the village
leader.
he couldn’t go to school
because he kept having
fits and falling.
33

the community doctor’s practice is in the big village, more
than an hour away by foot.
34
to cure or not to cure
that is the question!
that’s the respect that made
calamity of his short life.
why didn’t you bring keifa
to me earlier, he’s
probably just having
epileptic seizures.
for you there is a doctor
together you go hither
you will seek his advice
and we’ll help pay the price..

he has to go
into town for
tests. then i can
treat him.
doctor mehdik, i don’t have any
money and i’ve never been
into town.
don’t be scared,
they won’t
hurt you.
the village leader said
that he’d help you and i’ll
come with you.
can i help you with
the match?
we’ll wait
for you!
35

the day after...
36
so now you know
everything
doctor.
we’ll get
keifa tested
immediately.

KEIFA has an EEG but he needs
another test :
a brain scan.
indeed!!
KEIFA has a quite severe
form of epilepsy with a brain
injury that was caused by
the fever and the
convulsions he had
as a baby.
he’ll get better, even if his seizures
don’t disappear completely.
Dr mehdick made the right
diagnosis.
leopold, can
you come and look
at the CT scan
pictures?
...And he’ll give
you the medicine
you need.
37

Keifa’s visit to the
town was short. he’s
back at the village.
with the medicine, he
has fewer seizures.
the others boys know
what happened, lamine
explained it all.
38
we’re going to
beat them
hands down!
for tomorrow, i propose that
keifa be in charge of
the drinks.
ok, guys, training is
over.
we’re ready!
I agree, now that we know
what’s wrong with him. he’s
doing better and we can talk
to him.
i came to bring you
some water.

it’s the big day. the whole village is at the game and waiting for the kick-off.
so keifa,
confident?
39

Lamine and Keifa have epilepsy
Two of our boys have this bizarre disease called epilepsy: this word means surprise, and, indeed, persons with
epilepsy have unexpected manifestations called seizures, that they cannot control.
Lamine does well in school, is ambitious and wants to have a successful life. Seizures happened while
everything was going well. He ends up taking his medication and the seizures disappear. He is the leader
of his pack of friends and has a gift for soccer. His disease does not
change this.
Keifa, on the contrary, is not like any other boy: he was
severely sick as a baby, with convulsions that left a trace, a
scar in his brain. Later he had problems with learning and had
seizures that make him fall and hurt himself. He did not enjoy
a normal life like other boys of his age. But when he finally gets
medical attention and receives medication, he becomes a normal
boy again, even though he still has some attacks. Before that, Keifa
had been considered as «possessed», «cursed» and even contagious.
Of course, epilepsy is neither a contagious disease nor a curse. The condition was explained to the other boys,
and then they accepted Keifa among them. He took part in the big soccer match. There are indeed two important
things : the first is that one must seek (and have access to) medical care ; the second is that «the others», family,
friends, fellow pupils, teachers, colleagues, neighbours… must understand what epilepsy really is.

Epilepsy, what is it ?
Epilepsy is a condition characterized by the occurrence of epileptic seizures. More than one person in 100 has
epilepsy in developing countries.
Most do not have other problems besides epilepsy, but some do, such as psychological difficulties.
Epileptic seizures are varied:
The «big seizure», also called Grand Mal seizure, is the most dramatic one: there is first a stiffening of the whole body, then a fall,
followed by jerks of all four limbs, then the person sleeps, sometimes for several hours. Lamine had this type of seizure when he
stopped his medication.
The least impressive seizure is a simple blackout, called an «absence», that lasts only for a few seconds. Lamine had absences,
and the one recorded in the hospital allowed his doctors to make a precise diagnosis and to choose the right medication.
Between these two extremes, there are more or less impressive, more or less dangerous seizures that affect only a part of the
brain : they are called partial or focal seizures. Keifa probably had this type of seizures, which were due to a scar in his brain.
How do doctors make a diagnosis of epilepsy?
In order to be sure that a person has epileptic seizures, the doctor will gather a maximum of
information. The best solution is to witness a seizure directly, or to see one filmed by the patient’s
family (for instance on a cellular phone). The doctor will ask many questions and try to find an
explanation, a cause for the epilepsy. In many cases, like for Lamine, there is no precise cause.

Some procedures may be necessary:
The electroencephalogram (in short: EEG), which records the electrical activity of the brain. This
procedure is painless and without danger!
Other procedures are necessary in order to show whether there is a permanent lesion in the brain:
the CT scan or the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These procedures use impressive
machines, but are not painful; the patient has to remain totally quiet for about 15 minutes.
Epilepsy is not a curse, epilepsy can be cured
Medication can totally or partially prevent the occurrence of seizures. More than half
of all epilepsies are easily controlled and seizures disappear (as for Lamine). In other
cases, seizures become less frequent without stopping completely. More rarely,
seizures do not respond to medication, and other means will be used to help the
patients.
In all cases, the treatment of epilepsy must be taken regularly, and for a long time.
In the best cases, treatment can be stopped after a few years and seizures will not
recur. In other cases, the seizures are simply « suspended », masked by the
medication, and recur when the medication is stopped.

In Africa, as in the rest of the world, epilepsy is a public health issue. This is the reason
why Sanofi Access to Medicines has supported the creation of this educational comic book.
Our objective is to raise awareness about epilepsy, to fight misconceptions which are often
associated with it, and to improve access to treatment which in most cases can prevent seizures.
This book talks about Lamine, Keifa, their families, and the doctors who have treated them,
so that Lamine and Keifa can keep playing football and going to school like every other kid.
Of course this story is a fiction. Everything is not exactly as in real life, however all information
regarding epilepsy is accurate. Epilepsy is a disease like any other disease, a disease which can
be treated.
We hope that the story of Lamine and Keifa will help fight the stigma surrounding
epilepsy, and therefore improve access to proper care for everyone needing treatment.
ACM.CNS.11.11.04