Shine, a publication of Texas Children's Hospital

7/27/2019 Shine, a publication of Texas Children's Hospital

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shineSUMMER 2008

Progress, Patients and Philanthropyat Texas Childrens Hospital


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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO

A circleone of natures simplest forms. No shape better represents

life. We at Texas Childrens Hospital embrace the circle as an

inspiration for a unique project dedicated to bringing new life into

the world and to ensuring the health and well being of future

families in our community and beyond.Earlier this year, we broke ground on Texas Childrens Maternity

Center and thus began our journey to unite world-class obstetrics,

gynecology and maternal/fetal medicine services with our already

outstanding neonatal program and comprehensive array of

pediatric subspecialty servicesall in one centralized location.

By linking our pediatric mission with our neonatal and

maternal fetal medicine vision and extending the services we already

offer, we are creating a new paradigm for what tomorrows childrenshospitals will look like.

Texas Childrens Maternity Center will provide an unparalleled

continuum of pediatric and womens services, a complete circle of

care to meet the growing and changing needs of families in our

community.

Texas Childrens Maternity Center will have the Baylor College

of Medicine full-time faculty in obstetrics and gynecology,

including the maternal/fetal medicine experts like those at Texas

Child F l C h f i f h

By linking our

pediatric mission

with our neonatal

and maternal fetal

medicine vision

d di h

OFFICERS

MAX P. WATSON

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

BRAD TUCKER

PRESIDENT

KEVIN C. KING

VICE PRESIDENT

ANN LENTS

VICE PRESIDENT

ANTHONY G. PETRELLO

VICE PRESIDENT

RONALD C. HULME

TREASURER & ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Y. PING SUN

SECRETARY

DACE REINHOLDS

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

[NON TRUSTEE]

EMERITUS TRUSTEES

JOSEPHINE E. ABERCROMBIE

ALFRED C. GLASSELL, JR.

ADVISORY BOARD

EDUARDO AGUIRRE, JR.

KIRBY ATTWELL

BEN A. BROLLIER

GEORGE H. JEWELL

R. BRUCE LABOON

VIRGINIA MCFARLAND

DARRELL C. MORROW

PHILIP R. NEUHAUS

MACONDA BROWN OCONNOR, PH.D.

LOIS F. STARK

PHOEBE C. WELSH

ASSOCIATE BOARD

TOM BACON


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PROGRESS, PATIENTS AND PHILANTHROPY AT TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

Texas Childrens Hospitalis dedicated to providing the finest

possible pediatric patient care,education and research.

SUMMER 2008

shine

EDITOR

AMBER LEWIS TABORA

CONTRIBUTORS

ANGELA DOLDER

DAWN DORSEY

ERIKA DURHAM HARGROVE

KATHY ISDALE

TRAVIS MCCLAIN

SHANNON RASP

ANN SAYE

HEATHER MCLEAN WIEDERHOEFT

PHOTOGRAPHERS

PAUL VINCENT KUNTZ

Nowonlineat

www.shine.texaschildrens.org

4FAITH & FETAL MEDICINEPioneering fetal procedure removes rare tumor,gives mother and baby hope

8TWIN TRIUMPH

Twin to twin transfusion patientsdepend on fetal intervention for survival

12THE WAY HOME

Team-based developmental care helps ensure

b li f lif f hi h i k i f


4/24

@ Texas Childrens

F O R M O R E N E W S , V I S I T U S O N L I N E TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL | 32 | TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

HO SPIT AL NEWS AND EV ENT S | SU M M ER 2 0 0 8

Donors, community leaders, area families and Texas Childrens Hospital

Board of Trustees members gathered May 15 to celebrate the ground-

breaking of Texas Childrens Hospital West Campus. The first phase,

scheduled to open in the spring of 2010, will include a 190,000-square-

foot outpatient clinic with physician offices, and the second phase,

opening in the fall of 2010, will feature a 280,000-square-foot inpatient

facility with 48 intermediate and acute care patient beds, surgical suites,

advanced imaging and diagnostic services and the only dedicated

pediatric emergency room in the greater West Houston area. Eventually, Texas Childrens Hospital West Campus will be one of the

countrys largest suburban pediatric hospitals, with up to 500,000 square feet and 96 licensed beds.

Located in the midst of one of the nations fastest growing areas, the West Campus will serve children and families from Sugar Land

all the way up to Bryan-College Station. Since 2000, this pediatric population has been growing rapidly and is expected to have increased

51 percent by 2015.

Our new West Campus will provide families greater access to the same unsurpassed standard of care for which Texas Childrens

Hospital is internationally recognized, said Mark A. Wallace, president and chief executive officer of Texas Childrens. It will be a

premier pediatric treatment facility and a leading community resource center for child wellness and healing.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Wallace announced a $3 million gift from ConocoPhillips to the West Campus and to the Jan and

Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute. He also thanked Mary and David Wolff, who donated 10 acres of the site on which the

hospital will be built, a gift valued at $4.5 million.

Breaking new ground in West Houston

With the construction of its new Maternity Center underway, Texas Childrens Hospital has acquired theWomens Specialists of Houston (WSH), a private physicians group practicing obstetrics and gynecolo-

gy, to help care for the women and families the new center will serve.

We founded the Womens Specialists of Houston to help all people, and the new Maternity Center

is a manifestation of that vision, said Edward Yosowitz, M.D., managing partner and founder of WSH.

The group handles 34-40 percent of the deliveries in the Texas Medical Center. By merging with

Texas Childrens, the groups seven physicians and four nurse midwives will have resources to expand,

adding at least five more staff physicians over the next five years and helping recruit additional private

physicians to office in the new Maternity Center facility after completion in 2011.

Were very excited about the Maternity Cente rits never been done before, added Yosowitz. For patients to have their babies and have

pediatric services right there, to have research and collaboration with an institution like Baylor right there, its a model that just makes sense.

Texas Childrens Maternity Centeracquires Womens Specialists of Houston

For the ninth consecutive year, Texas Childrens has been ranked among the countrys top 10

foremost pediatric health care facilities in U.S. News & World Reports annual Americas Best

Childrens Hospitals publication.

This year, Texas Childrens maintained its No. 6 national ranking and No. 1 ranking in

this part of the country. In addition, the hospitals overall score and reputation perception reached

new levels.

We are excited about this ranking, which is a tribute to the hard work and commitment

of all our employees and physicians. As we move toward the expansion and 2010, we expect to

continue to blaze trails at the forefront of pediatric health care, said Mark A.Wallace, Texas

Childrens president and chief executive officer.

Texas Childrens did exceptionally well in the pediatric subspecialty categories, placing in

the top 10 of each category, including No. 2 for respiratory disorders, No. 3 for cancer and for

cardiology/heart surgery, No. 4 for digestive disorders and No. 5 for neurology/neurosurgery.

Once again ranked among the nations best

@ Texas Childrens

Physician-in-chief announces search for his successor

A T W W W . T E X A S C H I L D R E N S . O R G

Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., physician-in-chief of Texas Childrens Hospital and chair

of the department of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, recently announced

his intentions to step down from his leadership roles and is helping Texas

Childrens and Baylor conduct the formal, national search for his successor.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Feigin has provided extraordinary leadership for

our institutions, said Mark A. Wallace, president and chief executive officer of

Texas Childrens Hospital. He has cared for thousands of young patients, trained

hundreds of residents and medical students and led groundbreaking research.

Under his leadership, Texas Childrens Hospital and Baylors department of

pediatrics have grown to international prominence, and he will continue to be an

invaluable resource to both of our institutions.

Feigin will continue to serve as physician-in-chief and chair of pediatrics until

a successor is named and, at that time, continue to serve as a professor ofpediatrics at Baylor and a pediatrician at Texas Childrens.


5/24

ElijahGraffwithmother,Cynthia

To the casual observer, it may not look like a miracleKeri

McCartney cradling her 1-month-old daughter, Macie Hope.

Making her debut in the world, Macie doesnt realize that hers

is one of the most miraculous births ever to happen at Texas

Childrens Hospital. Nor does she know that she had mademedical history even before she was born.

After all shes been through, shes just at peace now,

said McCartney. Indeed, Macie is content to doze quietly in her

mothers arms, blissfully unaware of the herculean effort of faith

and fetal medicine that it took to bring her into the world a

healthy girl.

Its a miracle from God that she is here with usGod

and Texas Childrens Hospital, added McCartney.

Holding onto hope

Macies extraordinary medical odyssey began rather

mundanely with a routine ultrasound at 23 weeks gestation. We

had hoped to determine the sex of the baby, explained

McCartney. My husband, Chad, and I had brought along our

four children to hear the news.

But the ultrasound revealed that their babya girlwasnt

alone in the womb. A tumor, nearly the size of the baby, had

mushroomed from her tailbone. Macie Hope, they would call her,

would likely die inside her mother.

Faced with this dismal future, Hope was all we had,

said McCartney.

That hope brought them to Texas Childrens Fetal Center at

Texas Childrens Hospital, one of only a handful of centers in the

United Statesand the only center in the Southwestto offer thefull spectrum of fetal therapies including fetal surgery, fetal

diagnosis and minimally-invasive fetal intervention.

By the time the McCartneys made the trip from their home

in Laredo to the Fetal Center, Macies health was already fading.

Macie had whats known as a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a rare

tumor that forms at the base of the coccyx. It occurs in about 1 in

35,000 births, said Darrell Cass, M.D., co-director of the Fetal

Center and associate professor of pediatric surgery at Baylor

College of Medicine.

A fetal echocardiogram to study her heart, a level two

ultrasound and an MRI were done to help evaluate Macies

condition and determine the next course of action.

Tests revealed the monstrous growth was rich with blood

vessels and thieving blood, causing Macies heart to beat

frantically. As the tumor grew, she continued to struggle.

Macies heart was in the process of failing, said Nancy

Ayres, M.D., director of the echocardiography laboratory at Texas

Childrens Hospital and fetal cardiology at Texas Childrens Fetal

Center. She didnt have much time.

faith&fetal medicine

A pioneering procedure at Texas Childrens gives

the McCartney family hope for their daughters life

By Angela Dolder

www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEX AS CHIL DRE NS HOS PITAL | 5Macie McCartney


6/24

www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEX AS CHIL DRE NS HOS PITAL | 7

The Fetal Center treat-

ment teamincluding Cass

and co-director Oluyinka

Olutoye, M.D., maternal-

fetal medicine specialists

Anthony Johnson, D.O., and

Kenneth Moise, M.D., as

well as neonatologists, obste-

tricians, fetal cardiologists,

anesthesiologists and other

expertsconvened and pre-

sented the McCartneys withtheir options. They could let

nature take its deadly course;

or the team could remove the

tumor during a daring open

fetal surgery that would make

medical history in the

process. Fewer than 15 of this

type of procedure had ever

been done before, according

to Cass. Fewer still produced positive outcomes.

While Texas Childrens Fetal Center had performed open fetal

surgery for fetal lung masses, Macies procedure would be the first

open fetal surgery for a sacrococcygeal teratoma at Texas Childrens

Hospitaland it would be Macies only hope for life.We were hoping to do everything we could to save Macie,

said McCartney. We surrendered Macies fate to our faith and

chose the surgery.

Making medical history

Two weeks after the diagnosis, McCartney, 25 weeks

pregnant, lay prepped for surgery in a Texas Childrens Hospital

operating room, ready to risk her own health to save Macie.

With such a proce-

dure, Keri was at risk for

bleeding and early labor,

said Richard Todd Ivey,

M.D., assistant professor of

obstetrics and gynecology at

Baylor College of Medicine

and McCartneys ob/gyn at

Texas Childrens Hospital.

Even after viewing

photos of the surgery,

McCartney still cannot fath-om what the Texas Childrens

Fetal Center team did next.

With McCartney

under many times the

standard dose of anesthesia,

surgeons sliced a wide arc

across her lower abdomen,

reached inside with gloved

hands, plucked the uterus

from her depths and laid it atop her torso. Ivey and Moise

massaged the uterus in order to properly position Macie for the

surgery; Ayres monitored Macies heart.

Lead surgeon Cass made a seven-inch incision into the

uterine wall, lifted Macies lower half into the world and resectedthe parasitic growth.

The teratoma was about the size of a grapefruit, said

co-surgeon Olutoye, associate professor of pediatric surgery at

Baylor College of Medicine.

Then Macie was returned to the life-sustaining pool of

amniotic fluid in the confines of her mothers womb. The uterus

was reinserted into McCartneys abdomen and the maternal

flesh sewn closed.

There, in the secret place,

breached only by a gifted few,

Macie remained to strengthen

herself for life outside the

womb. Our hope was to

allow my pregnancy to

progress to 28 weeks so that

Macie could develop, said

McCartney. 30 weeks would

have been great; 32 weeks

would have miraculous.

Macie had other plans.She stayed put for an

astonishing 10 weeks post-

surgery until she was born, at

35 weeks, via cesarean section

on May 7, said Ivey.

Macie spent a month in

the neonatal intensive care unit

at Texas Childrens Newborn

Center and later underwent a

second surgery to remove some internal cysts spawned by the tumor.

Meanwhile, McCartney recovered nearby at St. Lukes Episcopal

Hospital Labor and Delivery Unit staffed by Texas Childrens.

Macies successful surgery is just one more example of the kind

of expertise that has solidified Texas Childrens Hospital among the eliteinstitutions capable of saving babies before they are born said Cass.

This is the first of many firsts for the Fetal Center, he added.

Particularly now, with Texas Childrens Maternity Center on the

horizon, the future of fetal medicine here is bright.

Building life

For families like the McCartneys, Texas Childrens Hospital

is creating a comprehensive maternity center where world-class

experts will provide care

to mothers and babies at

every stage of pregnancy,

birth and infancy.

Slated to open in

2011, the new Texas

Childrens Maternity Center

will galvanize top talent from

Texas Childrens Fetal

Center, Texas Childrens

Newborn Center, obstetrics,

maternal-fetal medicine andrelated specialtiesultimately

at one location.

Our ability to ensure

comprehensive, multidisci-

plinary care under the

auspices of Texas Childrens

Maternity Center will give

high-risk patients like Keri

and Macie the best hope

for life, explained Ivey. Macie is the perfect example of

what modern medicine is capable of when the circle of care

is complete.

For the McCartneys, hope came full circle in June when they

headed home to Laredo as a whole familywith a perfectlyhealthy Macie in tow. The only visible evidence of the harrowing

circumstances surrounding Macies start in life is hidden beneath

a preemie-sized diaper.

If God had not brought us to Texas Childrens, our little

girl would not be here today said McCartney. I am grateful

that Texas Childrens is building a place like the Maternity

Center, but really what they are building is life for more

babies like Macie.

Above Left: An MRI shows Maciessacroco ccygeal teratoma at 24 weeks.

Above Right: Chad, Keri, and theirdaughter, Macie McCartney

Right: The Fetal Center treatment team,co-directors Drs. Darrell Cass and

Oluyinka Olutoye, and maternal-fetalmedicine specialists Drs. Kenneth

Moise and Anthony Johnson

Macie is the perfect example of what

modern medicineis capableof when the circle of care is complete.- Dr. Richard Todd Ivey, ob/gyn at Texas Childrens


7/24

www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEX AS CHI LDR ENS HOS PITAL | 9

TWINTRIUMPHMother and her twins rely on Texas Childrens

fetal intervention team for support and survival

Anayele Martinez knew her stomach would get big, maybe even huge. After all, she was having twins.

She figured a protruding stomach and backaches came standard with morning sickness and swollen

ankles. But by her 24th week of pregnancy, big just wasnt the word to describe her.

My belly was sticking out so far, and the skin on my stomach was pulled so tight it felt like it was going

to pop, the first-tim e mother recalled. On top o f that, my back hurt terrib ly. Everyone kept telling me it was

normal, but I knew it wasnt. I knew something had to be wrong.

During her next check-up at Ben Taub General Hospital, Martinez explained her pains to her resident

doctor, who had a hunch what the problem might be. Kenneth Moise, M.D., member of the fetal

intervention team at Texas Childrens Hospital, was immediately called in and the diagnosis was

confirmedtwin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

BY ERIKA E. HARGROVE

Anayele with Christopher and Jonathan Martinez


8/24


TTTS is a condition where the babies share one placenta as

opposed to each having their own. This placenta contains blood

vessel connections between the twins that are not balancedblood

moves one way but does not return. In TTTS, the smaller twin

(donor twin) sends blood to the larger twin (recipient twin) who

becomes overloaded.

In an attempt to reduce its blood volume, the recipient twin

increases the urine it makes, which eventually results in the twin

having a very large bladder and too much amniotic fluid. This

causes a quick increase in the size of the uterus, which is often the

first sign of trouble that many mothers, including Martinez,

notice. As the disease progresses, the donor twin makes less and

less urine so its amniotic fluid disappears and it becomes wrapped

by its amniotic membrane (known as a stuck twin).

According to Moise, the condition is extremely severe and

can be fatal for one or both babies.

But Martinez was diagnosed at just the right timetwo

weeks after the arrival of the fetal intervention team to Texas

Childrens Fetal Center.

A NEW MODEL OF CARE FOR MOTHERS AND BABIES

Recruited in 2006 from the University of North Carolina,

Chapel Hill, the fetal intervention team of Moise, Anthony

Johnson, D.O., and coordinator Karen Moise, R.N., came toHouston to establish and operate this much needed service.

Prior to their arrival, there were no such services provided

in the central part of the country, said Karen Moise. If Anayele

would have not had the resources to travel to San Francisco

or Pennsylvania, it is highly likely that she would have lost

the pregnancy.

During Martinez treatment in 2007, she was transferred to

the St. Lukes Labor and Delivery Unit, staffed by Texas

Childrens. By 2011, however, mothers with this kind of

condition and other pregnancy complications will have the

opportunity to be treated at Texas Childrens Maternity Center,

currently under construction. The center will provide the finest

prenatal and obstetrical care to women and perinatal care for their

babiesall in one state-of-the-art facility.

Along with Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Childrens is

assembling a team of physicians and administrators to lead the

Maternity Center and actively recruiting medical staff that will be

focused on high-risk deliveries.

The fetal intervention team is especially excited about the

arrival of the Maternity Center. The unique services of Texas

Childrens Fetal Center will be provided to patients in one

location on the fourth floor of the new center. There patients can

receive the expertise of perinatal specialists as well as a broad

spectrum of pediatric subspecialists who will care for their unborn

child after birth. We are excited to be a part of this world-class

opportunity, Moise said.

SAVING TWO TINY LIVES

Once diagnosed, Martinez was briefed on the best option to

save her childrena procedure called laser photocoagulation.

The procedure requires doctors to make a small incision in the

skin over the uterus through which a very small telescope, called

a fetoscope, with a small laser fiber is inserted directly into the

recipient twins pregnancy sac. The fetoscope is used to look at the

blood vessels on the surface of the placenta. Vessels that are found

to communicate between the twins are then disconnected with

the laser energy. This process is followed by the removal of the

extra amniotic fluid around the recipient twins sac to achieve a

normal volume.

Prior to the surgery Martinez said she understood

that the risks were great, but so were the possible rewards.

According to Johnson and Moise it takes about 75 cases for

a surgical team to reach peak performance with laser

photocoagulation. Once that is achieved 50-60 percent of the

time the mother will take home two babies, approximately

20-30 percent of the time she will take home one baby,

and about 20 percent, or less, of the time she will take home

no babies.

I heard the risks and statistics, but Dr. Moise also told me

his intentions, Martinez said. He told me the goal was to go in

and get two healthy babies. I believed in him, and I believed in

my boys. He told me that if we were a praying family this was the

time to start praying.

Prayers were answered when Martinez surgery was

completed without complication. However, she did require strict

bed rest for three months after going into pre-term labor a few

weeks later. While on bed rest I just kept talking to my boys and

telling them to keep growing, Martinez said. I would get

depressed, and then I would feel them kicking in there and

reminding me that I wasnt alone. We were all fighting together. I

have some brave little boys. They never gave up.

The Martinez twins were delivered by c-section in March

2007 and are now 15 months old.

ANGELS OF MEDICINE

Johnson said he cannot stress enough how important

it is for patients to be their own best advocates in these

situations. TTTS is a very bad disease. If you do

nothing, there is a 90 percent mortality rate, he said. It is

important to ask the right questions. If you are pregnant

with twins then ask if there is one placenta or two.

Johnson further recommended that mothers carrying

monochorioinc or twins with one placenta receive an ultrasound

every two weeks and are also seen by a maternal-fetal medicine

specialist in addition to their regular obstetrician.

Patients need to stay informed because most obstetricians

will only see about two to three cases of TTTS in their careers,

added Moise, and they may not know exactly what the signs

are right away.

All the more reason for mothers to have a resource to turn to

like Texas Childrens Maternity Center.

Including the Martinez procedure, Johnson and Moise have

performed approximately 100 laser photocoagulation surgeries,

and counting. The team attributes much of its success to the envi-

ronment Texas Childrens Hospital has provided.

Anytime we need to do a surgery, we have the staff, space

and resources24/7, Karen Moise said. She added that the fetal

intervention team is greatly supported by a trained group of

nurses and other professionals. The support is especially

welcoming since Texas Childrens Hospital has been in the

childrens business. These are moms, adults, so its a different

realm for them, but we always have everything we need.

Johnson and Moise both said they often have to pinch

themselves when they think about their teams progress

and possibilities within Texas Childrens and with the new

Maternity Center.

At Texas Childrens Hospital the priority is always the

patient and decisions are made around that central focus,

Johnson said.

Martinez couldnt agree more. Today she has two healthy

15-month-old boys who are active, alert and developing normally.

I was a single mom trying to get through a very difficult

situation on my own, she said. Dr. Moise and Dr. Johnson not

only saved my boys but were there for me every step of the way.

They are my angels.

10 | TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL www.texaschildrens.org

While on bed rest I just kept talking to my boys and telling them

to keep growing. I would get depres sed, and t hen I would feel them kicking in there

and reminding me that I wasnt alone. We were all fighting together.

Anayele Martinez

Drs. Anthony Johnson and Kenneth Moise

TWIN TRIUMPH


9/24

the way homeFOR HIGH-RISK INFANTS, GETTING HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL

CAN BE A LONG ROAD PAVED WITH OBSTACLES, BUT TEXAS CHILDRENS

DEVELOPMENTAL CARE PROGRAM IS HERE TO HELP WITH THE JOURNEY.


Like most expecting moms, Kate Harrison anticipated the day

when she would carry her seco nd child, Chloe, home to be with

her family. On Oct. 6, 2007, she and her husband, Rex, drove

to their local Wharton, Texas hospital for the long-awaited

arrival. Little did they know that their babys first home would

turn out to be the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Texas

Childrens Hospital.

None of my prenatal exams indicated that Chloe had any

health problems, and she was a near-term delivery, explained

Harrison. After she was born, the doctors noticed what they

thought was a cyst on the outside of her abdomen. Within two

hours, she was transferred to Texas Childrens where she stayed for

the next three months.

Texas Childrens physicians quickly realized the cyst was

actually part of her bladder, and Chloe was diagnosed with cloa-

cal exstrophy, a rare condition. As their exams continued, doctors

realized Chloe also had a congenital heart defect, one of her

ankles had not developed, and her foot was severely deformed.

Testing also showed that Chloe was missing the tip of chromo-

some 1 that indicates she has Monosomy 1p35, a syndrome that

can be characterized by developmental delay.

At only 4-days-old, Chloe had surgery to begin addressing

some of her health conditions. Due to complications and

the forming of a fistula at the incision point, her stay at

Texas Childrens extended much longer than originally anticipat-

ed. Chloe was a patient for more than three months.

BY HEATHER MCLEAN WIEDERHOEFT

CHLOE AND KATE HARRISON


10/24


During that time, her treatment and recovery were prioritybut so

was her continued developmental growth that is so critical for

every newborn.

Luckily for Chloe, she was one of the first Level 3 NICU

patients to participate in Texas Childrens new developmental

care program.

Developmentally-supportive care primarily focuses on

three areas for high-risk newborns: positioning of the infant, light

and noise, explained LuAnn Papile, M.D., neonatologist who

was recruited to Texas Childrens to develop this unique multidis-

ciplinary program.

From a physiologic standpoint, we try to determine what

elements stress a newborn and find ways to limit the stress so the

newborn can continue to develop. The key to this approach is the

family-centered aspect. We work with the families so they can

learn how to better read their babys cues and clues and learn how

to approach their baby so when they eventually graduate from

Texas Childrens, they have a much more successful transition

home, said Papile.

For example, during the final trimester, the growing infant

is in a very flexed position in the womb which is a critical

component for development, said Papile. Because pre-term

newborns automatically adjust to the flat surfaces in their nurs-

ery environment, the developmental care team works to keep the

infant in the appropriate third trimester position to encourage

better development.

IT TAKES A TEAM

Developmental rounds are a key part of the program.

Different members of the teamincluding doctors, nurses,

physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, clini-

cal specialists, child-life therapistsmeet at least once a week to

discuss each baby. Their goal is to work together as a team to

ensure the babys developmental growth as well as the

familys understanding.

Everyone on the team has a different perspective about the

baby and the family, explained Papile. As we share information,

we are able to develop a holistic picture of what is going on with

the baby and the family which should make the transition from

the birth of a high-risk newborn to the infant eventually being

discharged as smooth as possible.

Carol Turnage-Carrier, M.S.N., R.N., newborn clinical

nurse specialist, is a member of the team and has worked in the

area of developmental care for 11 years.

Until this program was launched, it was as if we had beenpreparing for Dr. Papile to join us so we could move forward.

Working together with our staff and families, we are focusing on

providing our babies the best opportunities that will lead to the

best outcomes, said Turnage-Carrier.

Marcia Berretta, licensed clinical social worker, coordinates

follow-up with patients after they graduate from the hospital.

Currently, the follow-up program only applies to high-risk infants

who weighed less than 1,000 grams at birth or who received

extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In the future,

the program may extend to all newborns in Texas Childrens

Level 3 NICU.

We feel it is so important to maintain a relationship with all

of the patients from this program so we can track how each infant

is doing as well as provide

support to the parents to

help ensure their baby is

developing as he or she

should, Berretta said.

Our follow-up clinic,

which opened in late June,

will provide us with

real-time information on

our patients. We can pro-

vide support to parents

who are anxious and help

answer any of their ques-

tions so they can continue

to support their infants developmental progress.

According to Ann Stark, M.D., chief of neonatology service,

having this real-time information on all of the NICU graduates

will be important to Texas Childrens ongoing efforts to improve

care and outcomes for newborns. This program also is going to

be greatly enhanced with the addition of Texas Childrens

Maternity Center. The best outcomes are when you have a

high-risk baby born in the same hospital where the NICU care is

available. With moms being able to deliver at Texas Childrens

instead of having to transfer their high-risk babies, well be

creating a more ideal situation for treatment.

HOME AT LAST

For young Chloe and her family, her first several months of

life were a true challengethe majority of her time spent in the

hospital overcoming some tremendous hurdles.

Today, Chloe is at home with her family and has begun her

outpatient treatment through Texas Childrens Hospital.

We would not be where we are today without the care

Chloe received at Texas Childrens, said Harrison. Dr. Papiles

developmental program gave us the tools we needed to

help Chloe succeed developmentally. This is really one of the best

hospitals in our country, and the developmental care program has

meant so much to us.

DR. ANN STARK

FROM LEFT, CAROL TURNAGE-CARRIER, MARCIA BERRETTA AND DR. LUANN PAPILE.

www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEXA S CHI LDR ENS HOS PITAL | 15

None of my prenatal exams indicated that Chloe had any health problems,

and she was a near-term delivery. After she was born, the doctors noticed what they

thought was a cyst on the outside of her abdomen. Within two hours, she was

transferred to Texas Childrens where she stayed for the next three months.

Kate Harrison

the way home


11/24

www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEX AS CHI LDR ENS HOS PITAL | 1 7

A NEW LOOK AT

HEREDITY

Researchers at Texas Childrens Hospital

and Baylor College of Medicine are investigating

how a womans diet during pregnancy may affect

her childs health throughout his or her lifetime.

BY SHANNON RASP

All babies are born with much of their biological profile predeterminedhow

tall they will be, if they will have curly hair or straight, if they are predisposed

to being slender or obese. But recent discoveries in the field of epigenetics are

causing some researchers like Kjersti Aagaard, M.D., Ph.D., to question previously

accepted ideas about heredity. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in

gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence.

Is it possible, Aagaard and her associates at Baylor College of Medicine wonder,

to alter a persons inherited traits while he or she is still a developing fetus? Can sim-

ple changes to a pregnant womans diet, for instance, help her offspring lead a

healthier life?


12/24


Aagaard, an assistant professor of maternal and fetal medi-

cine who sees patients at Baylor and St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital

in partnership with Texas Childrens Hospital, is fascinated by the

link between a mothers health and that of her offspring.

Ive always been interested in understanding the relationship

between the most common exposures encountered in pregnancy

and how it affects the next generations health, she said. It is

really evolution on a shortened scale. You can appreciate how a

pregnant womans health and wellbeing affects that of her child,

both in the immediate time after delivery and quite probably

throughout the life of that same child.

H ISTORY RA ISES IMPORTANT QUEST IONS

Aagaard traces her interest in this particular research to

reading a scientific report on the health of the children born to

women who suffered through the 1944-1945 famine in The

Netherlands. The German forces occupying the country at the

time blocked food deliveries to the western half; combined with

an unusually harsh winter, the situation resulted in the starvation

deaths of over 18,000 Dutch people.

The pregnant women who lived through the famine

delivered, not surprisingly, very small babies. However, when

those children grew up, they were disproportionately overweight

with high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease,

high cholesterol and other weight-related illnesses.

What made these people, who started out so tiny, grow to be so

large? Scientists believe that the malnutrition the women suffered

somehow caused profound reprogramming changes to their babies

in utero. The womens bodies communicated to the embryos that

food was scarce and of low nutritional value, so the babys genetic

makeup programmed its body to store fat in large amounts.

By the time the children were born, The Netherlands had

been liberated and food became abundant. But by then, the

childrens fate had been secured-their bodies would store fat,

reduce insulin secretion, and otherwise protect them from a

famine that no longer existed.

This example, in combination with a large number of other

epidemiology studies as well as observations from animal

models, have led the medical and scientific community to coin

the term developmental origins of adult disease to explain

the phenomena.

EAT ING FORTHE NEXT GENERATION

What does all of this mean for moms? Aagaard and others theo-

rize that what a woman eats during pregnancy can not only affect her

childs health at birth, but also affect it throughout his or her lifetime.

While your genes provide the basic building blocks, they dont

necessarily create the final heritable code, said Aagaard. Outside

influences can change the way in which genes are expressed.

As an example, she explained, she is studying histone changes

in rodent models. Histones are the chief protein components of

chromatin, which act as the spools DNA winds around and play

a role in gene regulation. Aagaard and her colleagues have discov-

ered these changes not only can be transmitted across generations

but also can be modified by nutrition. They observed that

supplementing essential nutrients in the first generation of

offspring from childhood through pregnancy and lactation can

reverse these changes in the next generation.

We found that a diet supplemented with essential nutrients,

yet unaltered in its caloric content, prevents adult metabolic

disease and can reprogram the offsprings genes, she said.

Aagaard and her colleagues also are studying the effects of a

high fat diet and obesity on development. Given our current adult

epidemic of obesity and the rise in juvenile diabetes and childhood

obesity, we were curious whether the framework for obesity was

being laid out in pregnancy or early lactation. We were especially

interested in looking at this issue in a primate model, with the hope

of eventually using our findings clinically to benefit patients.

Aagaard and her co-authors from the University of Utah

teamed up with researchers at the Oregon National Primate

Research Center. In their studies, recently published in the

Journal of Molecular Endocrinolog y, primates were placed

on control and high fat diets for up to five years. Over the course

of the study, many of the animals became obese. However,

Aagaard and her team learned that even in the absence of

maternal obesity, the high fat diet still affected the offspring.

Whether the moms were on the diet for two years or four

years, their offspring developed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,

Aagaard said. Moreover, if we put obese moms back on a control

diet after five years, there was some improvement among their

offspring following the diet reversal. These changes were accom-

panied by a significant change in the histone code, which is also

associated with changes in the expression of a number of genes.

BUILD ING HEALTHIER L IVES

Though still gathering and sorting data, Aagaard said they

hope to have answers within five years.

Giving people a better chance of living a healthier life

may be as simple as cutting down on high-fat foods or taking

a nutritional supplement, said Aagaard. We are finding

that simple interventions could potentially cut the rate of

obesity dramatically in the next generation and decrease the risk

for developing diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular

and lipid diseases.

Providing women with such interventions is one of the goals

of the new Texas Childrens Maternity Center, currently under

construction. The center not only will combine the clinical

advantages of Baylor and Texas Childrens, but also the significant

research strengths of both institutions, according to Amy Young,

M.D., executive vice chair and director of general obstetrics at

Baylor and Texas Childrens Maternity Center leader.

Young said, The Maternity Center will enable us to bring

the laboratory to the bedside to more effectively translate this

kind of current research activity into meaningful patient care and

improved outcomes.

Currently, Aagaard is taking her research in new directions,

using large databases and preserved human samples to investigate

the effects of tobacco use and air quality on developing fetuses.

My work is focused on understanding how we can use

these unique early periods in human development to help people

live longer, healthier and more enjoyable lives, Aagaard

explained. Advances in our understanding hopefully will enable

us to treat common adult diseases at potentially their earliest

point-before birth.

That vision is shared by Texas Childrens Maternity Center,

added Young We are caring for women at every stage in their

livesits the circle of life, and answers like those Dr. Aagaard is

uncovering will have important implications at every turn. The

ultimate goal is to build a better quality of life for the generations

that follow.


A NEW LOOK AT

HEREDITY

The Maternity Center will enable us to bring thelaboratory to the bedside to more effectively

translate this kind of current research activity into

meaningful patient care and improved outcomes.

DR . AMY YOUNG

We found that a diet supplemented withessential nutrients, yet unaltered in its caloric

content, prevents adult metabolic disease

and can reprogram the offsprings genes.

D R . K J E R ST I A A G A A R D


13/24


14/24

The Brown Foundation, Inc. commits $10 millionto Texas Childrens campaignBY ANN SAYE

Historic Gift to Help Heal Sick Children

In May 2008, Texas Childrens Hospital received word that

it would be receiving the second largest gift commitment in

its history$10 million from The Brown Foundation, Inc.to

support the Heal Sick Children campaign. The funds will be

dedicated to Texas Childrens Maternity Center and to the Jan and

Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, two of the most

pronounced campaign priorities.

The Brown Foundation, Inc. has been serving the Houston

community for nearly 60 years and has contributed to Texas

Childrens since 1962, totaling more than $23 million in gifts and

commitments, noted Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., physician-in-chief

at Texas Childrens Hospital. Over the years, the trustees

generosity has made an impact throughout the hospital, with

gifts to support each of Texas Childrens previous campaigns in

addition to Texas Childrens Cancer Center, infectious diseases,

autistic spectrum disorders, the congenital heart surgery service

and many other areas. This outstanding new commitment will

have an even more far-reaching effect.

The Brown Foundation, Inc. was founded in July 1951 by

Herman and Margarett Root Brown and George R. and Alice

Pratt Brown. As of last summer, the foundation had awarded more

than $1.1 billion in grants, approximately 80 percent of which

were awarded within the state of Texas, with special emphasis on

the city of Houston.

Since its inception, the foundation has given to programs

that address root causes rather than symptoms, stimulate

collaborative effort and create long-lasting impact beyond the

value of the actual grant.

We believe that Texas Childrens Maternity Center and the

J d D D N l i l R h I i h


15/24

ConocoPhillips pledges $3 millionto help children in Houston and around the worldBY ANGELA DOLDER

LEADE

RSINGIVING

For Families Near and Far

Texas Childrens Physician-in-Chief Dr. Ralph D. Feigin, President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, and

ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Jim Mulva break ground with help from Texas Childrens patients.


16/24ING

Simmons Family Foundation gives $3 million

to create collaborative research fundBY ANGELA DOLDER

L.E. and Virginia Simmons have added a new chapter

to their familys legacy of support for Texas Childrens

Hospital, and two other Texas Medical Center

institutions, with a commitment of $3 million to

bli h h Si F il F d i

with new ideas, such as junior researchers who require

financial support to jump-start their projects and

experienced investigators who might not otherwise

collaborate with their counterparts at other institutions.

T i i ll i i ifi i h

L.E. and Virginia Simmons

with their children,

William and Virginia

Pursuing Partnerships


17/24

Fares family commits $250,000 to advance neurological researchBY ANGELA DOLDER

In a Fathers Footsteps

Nijad I. Fares learned early on that giving to others is an impor-

tant aspect of lifeits a lesson he attributes to his father, Issam.

True to his fathers vision, Fares and his wife, Zeina, have

given back in a big way, committing $250,000 to the Jan and

Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas

Childrens Hospital.

The Fares gift will establish the Issam M. Fares Family

Lectureship at the Institute, in honor of the patriarch. My

father is my best friend and I am glad to recognize him, while at

the same time, give hope to millions of children and families

who are afflicted by neurological disease, said Fares.

Worldwide, one billion people, including 300 million

children, suffer from some form of the more than 600 disorders

that afflict the nervous system.

The Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute

ill b h fi f ili i d di d l i h


18/24

H-E-B Tournament of Championsgives $500,000 to congenital heart surgeryBY TRAVIS MCCLAIN

Ensuring the Best Care for Tiny Hearts

LEADERS IN GIVING

Thanks to a $500,000 gift from the 2008 H-E-B Tournament of

Champions, Texas Childrens congenital heart surgery service is

advancing its efforts to heal sick children with heart defects.

Now in its 23rd year, the H-E-B Tournament of

Championsa three-day series of events at tennis courts and golf

courses across San Antonioprovides an opportunity for vendors,

who supply H-E-B with products and services, to get actively

involved in supporting organizations across Texas.

Led by Charles D. Fraser, Jr., Texas Childrens congenital

heart surgery service is the only one of its kind in Texas. Pediatric

h h b f d T Child H i l

Dr. Fraser and his team are making an invaluable contri-

bution to the science of pediatric heart surgery, and we are pleased

to support their efforts, said Winell Herron, H-E-B Tournament

of Champions trustee.

Texas Childrens is fortunate to have the commitment of

generous community partners like the H-E-B Tournament of

Champions, said Mark Wallace, president and chief executive

officer of Texas Childrens Hospital. This gift will help accelerate

Dr. Frasers vision for the congenital heart surgery service,

ultimately advancing research and ensuring the best, most

i i f i h


19/24

Without The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, there might not be

the Texas Childrens Hospital known today. And now, Pin Oak is

helping launch the Texas Childrens of tomorrow.

Th Pi O k Ch i H Sh i

Horse Show debuted in 1945 and was soon one of the preemi-

nent horse shows in the nation. Today, with support from its pre-

senting sponsor Compass Bank Wealth Management Group, it

h b h fi h b i d b h U S

Shaping the Future

The Pin Oak Charity Horse Showpledges $300,000 to new West CampusBY KATHY ISDALE

From left, standing, William, Joseph and Eva

Bisso, Pin Oak executive board member;

Barbara Stewart, Compass Bank Wealth

Management Group advisor; Ed Perwein,

Pin Oak participant since its earliest days;

the award-winning horse MacArthur Park;

Lynn Walsh, Pin Oak president; Fiona Dawson,

assistant vice president with Compass Bank;

(kneeling, left) Wendy Cook, Pin Oak

managing director; and Susan Pelletier,

Pin Oak executive board member


20/24

On The SceneOn The Scene

28 | TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL www.texaschildrens.org www.texaschildrens.org TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL | 29

On February 26, Texas Childrens hosted its fourth annual An Evening

with a Texas Legend, presented by Wachovia and honoring medical legend

Denton A. Cooley, M.D. (right). More than 600 guests gathered at Hilton

Americas-Houston to hear CNN host Larry King (left) interview Cool ey about

his life and many pioneering accomplishments. The event, chaired by Janet and

Tom Walker, raised almost $450,000 for Texas Childrens Cancer Center .

Meg Goodman and Mike Bonini graciously hosted a reception in their home

several nights before the event to honor the top underwriters and sponsors.

From left, Shannon and Mark A. Wallace,president and CEO of Texas Childrens

Hospital; Terri, Prentiss and John Havens;

and Helen and Charles D. Fraser, Jr., M.D.,

chief of congenital heart surgery at Texas

Childrens, were among the crowd of nearly

400 who gathered at the Havenses historic

home for the second annual Frasers

Friends event in April. At the event, the

Havenses shared the story of how their son

Prentiss was born with a congenital heart

defect, Tetralogy of Fallot, and how Fraser

and his team repaired his tiny heart to save

his life. The 2008 Frasers Friends event

has helped raise more than $450,000 toadvance the priorities of the Texas

Childrens congenital heart surgery team.

Nearly 1,000 children and adults ran in the 10th annual Davids

Dream Run in May 2008, put on by David Elementary School PTO

in The Woodlands. The school and the run are named after David

Vetter, the Bubble Boy, who was born with severe combined

immune deficiency (SCID). This years run raised more than $20,000

for Texas Childrensbringing the schools total giving to the hospital

to more than $270,000. Recently, Davids family including (from left)

his nephew Cameron David Canion, sister Katherine Canion and

mother Carol Ann Demaret gathered at Texas Childrens with

Lee Allen, principal of David Elementary School, and Davids DreamRun volunteers Sandra Fuentes and Michelle Barrell to celebrate

the unveiling of the commemorative wall for the David Center for

allergy and immunology.

Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of

Texas Childrens, joins event emcees Shara Fryer,

KTRK news anchor, and Nancy Ames, owner

and founder of Ward & Ames Special Events.

Cancer Center patient Sabrina Hunter, 3,

gets entertained by Lori Vetters, regional

president of the Gulf Coast region at Wachovia,

and Legend honoree Denton A. Cooley, M.D.

Right, Event Chair Janet Walker with Underwriter Chair Emily Crosswell.

I M P O R T A N T D E V E L O P M E N T S

Celebrating Dr. Denton Cooleya world-renowned Texas Legend Frasers Friends launch another year of support

Davids dream lives on


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www.t exa sch ild rens .or g TEX AS CHIL DRE NS HOS PITAL | 3130 | TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL www.texaschildrens.org

On The SceneOn The SceneIn April, Carousel, Young Friends of Texas Childrens Cancer Center, hosted more

than 650 guests, including (from left) David Poplack, M.D., director of TexasChildrens Cancer Center; Audry Black, and her mother and event

committee co-chair, Kim; Maggie Stacy, event chairman, and her husband, Will, for

the Give a Hand to Raising the Roof family fun event at the Houston Zoo.

The event grossed more than $200,000 for Texas Childrens Cancer Center, and

participating families had the chance to finger-paint on ceiling tiles to help decorate

the roofs of Cancer Center patient rooms at the hospital.

Carousel rounds up support for pediatric cancer

By donating $1 at a time, Randalls customers and associates helped

raise $84,863 for the pediatric gene research program at Texas

Childrens Cancer Center through the 2008 Kindness for Kids

campaign, in partnership with the Houston Chronicle. The Clear Lake

store alone raised $6,406the most of all the local Randalls stores.

At the official check presentation, (from left) Jack Sweeny, president

and publisher of the Houston Chronicle, Ralph D. Feigin, M.D.,

Texas Childrens physician-in-chief, Tom Schwilke, Randalls president,

and ZoAnn Dreyer, M.D., director of the Cancer Centers long-term

survivor program, congratulated Randalls Clear Lake store employees David LaCour, store director, Sandy Crowder, customer service

supervisor, and Byron Myers, assistant store director, on their incredible success and generosity.

Randalls shows its kindness for kids

For the second year in a row,

Wal-Mart achieved its goal of

raising $10 million for Childrens

Miracle Network nationwidethis time, in just eight weeks. Stores in the greater Houston area

raised $264,340 during the campaignall going to support Texas Childrens Hospital.

Wal-Mart continues to rally

for Childrens Miracle Network

Top left, Wal-Mart Supercenter #2993 in Sugar Land

hosted a kickoff for the national fundraising effort, where

store manager Jesse Thompson (left) and Kevin Kline,

morning show DJ on The New 93Q (right, pushing cart),

helped Texas Childrens patient Mary Jo Stavinoha, 8, select

$1,000 worth of donated toys and craft supplies to give to

patients at the hospital. Right, Wal-Mart Distribution 7010

employees including (from left) Wendy Bowan, training

manager, Rick Johnson, transportation manager, and Adam

Gilliam, human resources manager, helped host the third annual Childrens Miracle Network Golf Tournament and

raised more than $10,000 to help Texas Childrens patients and families like Norma Dean (far right)

and her daughter, Rylee (center). Bottom left, Last year, Wal-Mart Supercenter #400 in Conroe was the top

fundraising store in the Houston market, collecting more than $20,900 for Childrens Miracle Network

thanks to the efforts of associates like (from left) Susan McDowell, Marie Thurmon and Cheryl Garrett.

This spring, Houston Junior Womans Club members and guests, including (from left)

Dianne Demny and Brenda Werner, 2007 fundraising chairs; Debbie Bauer, 2007 HJWC

president; and Nancy Shomette, 2008 HJWC president, celebrated their 40th anniversary at the

annual Donations Coffee. The event was a celebration of HJWCs longtime dedication to childrenand successful fundraising in 2007. Thanks to funds raised through HJWCs 24th annual Holiday

Happening, their first annual golf tournament and charitable fund contributions, the organization

was able to award more than $254,000 to 17 Houston area childrens charities, including $72,645 to Texas Childrens Cancer Center.

HJWC celebrates 40 years of dedication to children

In Spring 2008, the Theta Charity Antiques Show of the Houston Alumnae of Kappa Alpha

Theta donated $196,935 to permanently endow the annual lecture series they established at

Texas Childrens, now named The Donald J. Fernbach, M.D., Endowed Lecture Series,

presented by the Houston Alumnae of Kappa Alpha Theta. Recently, Theta alumni (from left)

Carol Herder, president, Liz Rigney, philanthropic committee chair, and Janet Lionberger, 2007

Theta Charity Antiques Show chair, joined lecture namesake Fernbach and David D. Poplack,

M.D., director of Texas Childrens Cancer Center, to unveil a special plaque at the hospital honoring the Theta Charity Antiques Show.

Thetas show support for pediatric faculty training

Photo by Alexanders Fine Portrait Design

This summer, all 98 greater Houston area Kroger Food

Stores participated in the companys Childrens Miracle

Network miracle balloon campaign. Thanks to the efforts

of many employeeslike District Manager Jeff Roberson

(back row, center) and his District 2 store representa-

tivesKroger raised more than $100,000 for TexasChildrens Hospital. Roberson and his team visited the

hospital prior to the campaign, gaining inspiration from

seeing firsthand where the money they help raise goes.

Kroger miracle balloons rise to the top


22/24

Most people may not think to name Texas Childrens

Hospital as the beneficiary of an IRA. After spending

many hours at Texas Childrens with his granddaughter,

Jackson O. Wilson did.

Wilsons 9-year-old granddaughter, Emily Otto, was

diagnosed with cystic fibrosis almost immediately after she was

born and spent her first three months of life in Texas Childrens

neonatal intensive care unit.

Emilys been in and out of Texas Childrens ever since,

Wilson says. Ive been up there with her numerous times and

have seen the good work they do. It was an easy decision to

support Texas Childrens.

Wilson and his late wife, who had severe multiple scle-

rosis (MS), retired to Houston three years prior to her death in

2005. He recently remarried, and his wife, Marion, has become just as doting a grandmother to his grandchildren as she is to her own.

l h h f d h h l h h l l dd h h b k Th l l

GIVING TO

A WORTHYCAUSEBY KATHY ISDALE

PLANNED GIVING


23/24

G R A T E F U L F A M I L Y

MAUREEN DIMARCO:GRATEFUL GRANDMOTHER

My daughter, Noelle Reed, was hospitalized this past March for almost four weeks while she was pregnant with triplets. She suffered

from cholestasis and preeclampsia, and one of the babies was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), meaning she was

small for her gestational age. As a result, Noelle was in great discomfort, and of course she was very anxious about keeping the

pregnancy going long enough for the babies to survive and do well.

We will never be able to say enough superlatives about her physician, Dr. Robert Carpenterhis skill and care (and his wicked sense

of humor). His medical skill is certainly the main reason my daughter and her husband are now the very proud parents of three healthy

babies who have had remarkably few difficulties other than simply

needing to grow.

But Im not writing just to praise Dr Carpenter; rather, I want to

explain that the other critical part of this success story is the Texas

Childrens nurses and staff who operate the Labor and Delivery Unit

at St. Lukes.

With no exceptions, every nurse and clerical staff member was

phenomenal. And after four weeks I think we knew every single

person there whether full-time or part-time. They are clearly the elite

of the nursing corps and take pride in their skill and also in their

ability to relate to each patient and truly make a difficult time as easy

as possible. Their care was always delivered with warmth, patience

and understanding of the physical and emotional stresses their patient

k h ld h


24/24

CALENDAR

Texas Childrens Hospital

832-824-1000

Development Office

832-824-2107

Texas Childrens Health Plan

1-800-990-8247

Texas Childrens Pediatric

Associates Referral Line

832-824-7700

Texas Childrens

Home Health Services

832-824-2400

Texas Childrens International

832-824-1138

Texas Childrens Health Centers832-824-2868

September 20, 2008

Nicholas Alexander Higgins

Memorial Golf Tournament

benefiting Texas Childrens Heart Center

Wildcat Golf Club

September 25, 2008

Lewis Jewelers An Emerald Evening

benefiting Texas Childrens Renal Dialysis Center

Lewis Jewelers in Webster, Texas

September - December 2008

Kris Browns Kick Club

benefiting Texas Childrens Charity Care

For information on any of these events, please contact the Office of Development at 832-824-6818

or e-mail [email protected].

Now online at www.shine.texaschildrens.org

COMMUNITY EVENTS

BENEFITING TEXAS CHILDRENSSeptember 25, 2008

Celebration of Champions

benefiting Texas Childrens Cancer Center

Hilton Americas Houston

October 14, 2008

The Bad Pants Open

benefiting Texas Childrens Newborn Center

Cypresswood Golf Club

November 18, 2008

Whats Up, Doc?

benefiting Generation to Generation

River Oaks Country Club

TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL EVENTS

Shine, a publication of Texas Children's Hospital

Documents

Transcript of Shine, a publication of Texas Children's Hospital