Fredericton — All across the world, scientists are working around the clock and racing to find a vaccine for COVID-19. One Fredericton mother of three recently decided that enough is enough — she joined the fight and took steps to become a scientist, with the aim of creating her own vaccination to get her kids out of the house and hopefully, back to school.
“Sure, I want to help the world and maybe save people’s lives,” explained Theresa Lewistien, who’s currently out of work and at home with her children. “But my main motivation is really to just get rid of these stupid kids.”
About a week after being in isolation with her children, Lewistein, a Grade 1 teacher who’s been put off work amid the virus outbreak, first took to Google to find out how to become a scientist. She began completing dozens of online courses — and began working on a cure.
“It was actually surprisingly easy,” she said, when asked if becoming a scientist was difficult. “I found a wikiHow page that took me through the process in four quick steps, and then I just started wearing a white jacket and goggles.
“Then I began mixing a bunch of different ingredients together — mostly stuff I had in the pantry or refrigerator — and just kind of hoped for the best.”
The Manatee asked how Lewistein intended on going about doing trials to learn whether the vaccine is effective.
She explained that she bought a “live virus bug” from someone on Amazon for testing purposes.
“Thank God for Prime,” she declared while mixing pickle juice into a vial with blue food colouring, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. “One way or another, I’m getting these kids out of here today.”