Roald Dahl’s Unlikely Medical Breakthroughs
Dr. Kumar’s Take
Roald Dahl is remembered for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, but few know that he made lasting contributions to medicine. After his son suffered hydrocephalus from a head injury, Dahl helped design a new type of shunt valve that went on to save thousands of lives. Later, when his wife had a debilitating stroke, he organized an intensive home rehabilitation program that challenged medical norms, and it worked. And after his daughter died from measles, he became an outspoken advocate for vaccination.