Max the Monkey Has MCADD

Medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is a disorder in which the body is not able to correctly convert fats into energy. Children with this disorder are encouraged to: 1.) Eat regularly 2.) Wear a medical alert bracelet. 3.) Stay well hydrated. Throughout this book you will notice zebra stripes in each illustration. In medicine an unlikely diagnosis is termed a “zebra”. This comes from a saying used when teaching medical students about how to think logically in regards to possible diagnoses. “When you hear hoofbeat, think horses, not zebras”. The term was coined in the late 1940’s by Dr. Theodore Woodward, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In the world of rare, inherited metabolic disorders, such as MCADD, physicians are trained to look for the “zebras”, so the term changes to “When you hear hoofbeats, think zebras”. We hope you enjoy this story about Max, Minnie and Mo and their journey across the jungle!