Who invented the Plaster Cast?- How do Broken Bones Heal? -Ulster Scots for Kids -Ulster Scots

Hello everyone, I am Bartholomew the Buckworm. You're probably wondering what I am doing here. I seem to have gotten myself into some trouble. I was playing football with my friends and then I fell over and hurt myself. But it's okay, this plaster cast will help me heal in no time, thanks to Anne Atchison. Who is Anne Atchison you say? Well, let me introduce you to the Ulster Scots Sculptor who created the medical plaster cast. Have you ever broken a bone and had to wear a plaster like mine for a few weeks? Well, we all have Anne Atchison to thank for this creation that allows our bones to set back in place. Although casts may be a nuisance at the time, without them our bones would not heal properly. So how did an Ulster Scots Sculptor end up designing innovative measures to fix broken bones? To understand the whole story, let's go back to the very beginning. The Atchison family were among the first Scottish families to come to County Armagh. At the very outset of the plantation of Ulster around 1610, when a Henry Atchison from East Lothian was granted land by King James I. Anne's story begins several hundred years later in Portadowne in 1882. Anne's father was a pharmacist in J.N.J. Atchison, while her mother Harriet Atchison was a poet and a very well-educated woman. Anne took after her parents and was highly intelligent, but she was also incredibly artistic. Now, let's see where this talent took her. Welcome to the Royal College of Art in London, 1906. Here, Anne studied sculpture under Edward Lanterry. When Anne finished her studies, she decided to travel northern Italy, visiting Rome, Florence and Venice. She then became a teacher in Putney, London in 1910, while also working on her own sculptures. Anne's sculpture techniques progressed and she began exhibiting her sculptures at the Royal Academy in 1913, when her first sculpture, The Pixie, was accepted. From then until 1949, she exhibited 22 times with a mixture of statuettes, portrait heads and figurines for the garden. Many of her statues were used as water fountains. She worked with wood, but mostly with metal, stone and concrete. She was one of the first women to become an associate member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. When the First World War broke out, Anne decided that she could not just sit down and do nothing. She was very proactive and clearly very brave. She decided that she would volunteer to help the war effort. Addison joined the Surgical Requisites Association, or the SRA, in Chelsea. Volunteers at the time were being trained to roll bandages and clean soldiers' wounds. Being the intelligent and innovative person we know she was, Anne decided there was more she could do. She would use her artistic talents to make more effective treatments for wounded soldiers. Through her work as a sculptor, Anne knew a lot about the anatomy and how the human body moved. By 1917, it occurred to Anne that the plaster of Paris that she had been using to help create her sculptures would be a better alternative for a splint. While volunteering with the SRA, she knew her sculpting work could come into good use. And with the help of British sculptor Elnor Halley, they devised an arm cradle. Up until then, broken limbs had been roughly set using wooden splints. Can you imagine if we still had to use wooden splints today? These splints often did not hold the bones in the correct position. This resulted in the fractured bones healing badly. Anne worked tirelessly to perfect her idea. Originally, the cradle was not made specifically for each patient. But through research, Anne soon realised that it could be moulded to fit each unique fracture. This was an innovative design that made a huge difference. During the Second World War, Atchison retrained as a precision engineer and a draftswoman to undertake voluntary work once again. She also worked for the Red Cross. Although an artist at heart, Anne's continuous volunteer work during both wars and in between showed her caring nature to help heal people in the quickest, safest and most comfortable way possible. So, how did Anne Atchison's plaster cast actually work? Let's check out the science. When a bone is broken in the body, the body springs into action and sends a message to start the healing process. The pain felt is a signal to keep the damaged area still. The body forms a blood clot to form around the broken bone to protect it and to help deliver the cells needed for healing. In order for the healing to happen, the bones must be held in place and should not be able to move around. The plaster cast helps bone heal just like this. Once set in place, an area of healing tissue forms around a bone. This is called callus and it joins the broken bones together. This is soft and fibrous at first. A few weeks after the injury, the callus begins to turn into hard cartilage callus. It is weaker than normal bone but helps to protect the healing bone. The last stage involves the formation of a strong new bone. The hard callus is replaced and reshaped into new bone. Our amazing bodies remember the initial shape and size of the bone and just replace it. Osteoclasts and osteoblasts help in the final stage. They are amazing cleaners and architects and they help sculpt the new bone to make it as good as new. Ann's method is still in use today by the medical profession. Well, would you look at that? I am healed already. I guess I am playing football tonight. Bye for now. Wow, I really learned a lot today. I can't wait to see you on my next adventure.