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Simply put, your gift to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation is a gift to the children of Michigan. Not only will it help in the day-to-day treatment of ailing children, but it will help the Children’s Hospital of Michigan continue to develop some of the most sophisticated pediatric treatment techniques found anywhere in the world.
Here are just a few examples of what we have been able to do with contributions to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation. |
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| Alex Wiser: Hematology |
The Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation provided the funds necessary to purchase the VeinViewer.
Alex was diagnosed with a very rare and dangerous form of leukemia when he was just six months old. Doctors at a local hospital referred him to Children's, where the pediatric hematology specialists began aggressive treatment, including two rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Because leukemia begins in blood cells, doctors needed blood work nearly every day. Little Alex was a "hard stick" - finding veins was a challenge. His mother recalls, "It was hard on the staff, too. We were in the ICU for five weeks, where they drew blood for labs at least twice a day. Finding veins in Alex's body was getting hard. They had to look everywhere. At one point they even considered using his head."
Then a member of Alex's care team suggested using a new device, the VeinViewer. The Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation purchased this cutting edge piece of medical hardware in 2006, just after it became available.
"The VeinViewer is priceless, no matter what it costs," says Alex's mom. "Before, it was traumatic for us and torture for Alex. You can't tell a 1-year-old that it will be over in a moment-all he knew was, it hurt. We would have to hold him down as soon as the tourniquet went on."
Today, Alex's leukemia is in remission. | |
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| Marcilio Hanna: Cardiology |
A grant from the Variety Club, a major supporter of the Children's Hospital of Michigan Variety Cardiology Center, enabled Children's to open the first pediatric cardiac catheterization laboratory of its kind in North America.
Marcilio's parents knew he was very sick, even before he was born. Ultrasounds revealed two holes in the septum, the wall of muscle that separates the right from the left pumping chambers of his heart. The condition, known as a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), is congenital. After he was born, his father says, "I could feel it each time I put my hand on his chest - his heart beat did not feel right."
Small VSDs often close on their own, as Marcilio's smaller one did, with no effect at all on the child's development. Larger holes pose more of a problem, decreasing the efficiency of the heart, leading in some cases to congestive heart failure. Because Marcilio's heart was working much harder than a normal heart, it had grew much faster than the rest of his body. By the time he was three, Marcilio had a teenage-sized heart.
Thanks to Daniel R. Turner, M.D. and his team in Children's Cardiac Catheterization Lab, treating Marcilio's VSD did not require open heart surgery. Instead, Dr. Turner repaired the hole using a minimally invasive approach. This progressive technique involved making a small incision in Marcilio's leg and guiding a catheter to his heart, using his own veins as a pathway.
"If you had been at Marcilio's bedside after the surgery, you wouldn't have believed how active he was right away," sys his father. "Instead of a slow painful recovery, we could barely keep him still."
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| Chamia Arnold: Neonatology Services and Wellness Outreach |
The programs Chamia uses are supported by the Helppie Institute along with other generous community organizations, all of which provide funding to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation.
When Chasity's daughter, Chamia, was born prematurely, she weighed less than one pound. A full-term pregnancy allows babies 40 weeks to develop. Chamia was born at 23 weeks, and her tiny respiratory system was dangerously underdeveloped. Doctors implanted a tracheotomy tube that she would need for years. She also suffered a brain bleed and a number of other issues that required a great deal of specialized neonatal care.
After many months of care, Chamia was discharged; but that did not end the care she - and the entire family - received from Children's. Chamia's condition made her eligible for transportation to the hospital for follow-up care, but not to the well-child visits that she and her brother and sister need to grow up healthy. Chasity had no means of transportation and limited assistance to stay with her other small children.
That's where Children's stepped in, this time at Chamia's home. The CATCH Pediatric Mobile Team, the Supporting Families in Pediatric Practice Program, and other outreach programs of the Helppie Institute for Child Health Advocacy, made sure that Chamia and her siblings received high quality in-home care, and that Chasity received the support and counseling she needed to provide ongoing care for Chamia.
"I feel like we've been adopted by Children's, and it's made a real difference in our lives," says Chasity.
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| Cole Glucklick: Neurology |
Funds from the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation affected every department and program that helped Cole recover.
On August 7, 2004, 11-year-old Cole and his parents were in a terrible accident. While driving in the Rockies in their home state of Colorado, their car slipped off the road and plunged 1,000 feet down a mountainside. The force of the crash was so intense that all were ejected from their car despite having worn seatbelts.
Cole's parents were killed. Cole was found unconscious, suffering massive head injuries. After he was stabilized at a local hospital, Cole's relatives brought him back to Michigan to be close during his recovery.
Still in a coma a month after the accident, Cole was transferred to Children's, where he came under the care of Steven D. Ham, D.O., chief of neurosurgery. Through a combination of imaging and physical exams, Dr. Ham diagnosed post-traumatic hydrocephalus-a buildup of fluid that increased the pressure in Cole's brain.
Dr. Ham inserted a shunt into Cole's brain, so the fluids would drain properly. "We saw the difference right away," says Cole's aunt. "He could talk again. He could recognize his family. He smiled at us."
Cole's surgery was just the beginning of his recovery. Over the next several months, he worked with a team of specialists from nine different disciplines - including orthopedic surgery, neurology, rehabilitation and psychology - and he made steady improvement. "Medicine is a complex environment and the team approach to patient care is essential," says Dr. Ham. After six months at Children's, Cole's aunt and uncle were able to take him home to Roscommon, where he continues to improve.
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