THE MAGAZINE OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION • APRIL 2017
THANKS TO YOU
ZaNyla is better today and will be healthier tomorrow
CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN
What does it mean to be Magnet? Thanks in large part to your generous support, Arkansas Children’s Hospital recently earned Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The recognition is a reflection of Arkansas Children’s nursing professionalism, teamwork and excellence in patient care. It’s a very prestigious honor. In fact, only 6% of hospitals worldwide earn Magnet® status. The application process took about 2.5 years and included nearly 800 staff interviews. I am so proud of the excellence achieved by our entire team. What does Magnet® recognition mean for you and the children you love? Magnet® means your child will get better faster. Magnet® means nurses spend more time at your child’s bedside. Magnet® means your child will receive compassionate care from a world-class team. At Arkansas Children’s, our patients are at the heart of all we do. This international designation affirms that the children we serve–your children, grandchildren, neighbors and friends–are receiving the very best care possible. As a donor to Arkansas Children’s, you are an important part of the team. Your generous support of the people, programs and places of Arkansas Children’s helped us earn this honor. Thank you! And thank you for championing children by helping us make them better today and healthier tomorrow. Sincerely,
Marcy Doderer, FACHE President and CEO Arkansas Children’s ACHIEVER STAFF: Editor Jennifer Cobb Contributing Writers Ashley Leopoulos, Becky McCauley Design C. Waynette Traub Photographers Beth Hall, Daniel Moody
Arkansas Children’s Foundation Board of Directors Chair Marcy Doderer, FACHE Vice Chair Charles B. Whiteside III President Fred Scarborough, CFRE Treasurer Jason LaFrance Pat Allen Ritter Arnold Sharon Bale Ginger Blackmon Frances Buchanan Stuart Cobb Steve Davison Kirk Dupps Harry C. Erwin III Kim Fowler Hayden Franks, MD Sharilyn Gasaway Robin George Mike Gibson Sonja Yates Hubbard Jason LaFrance Sharon Lamb Mark Larsen Jim McClelland Mandy Macke Barbara Moore Cindy Murphy Jake Nabholz Marshall Ney Terry Quinn Jennifer Schueck Patrick Schueck Belinda Shults Jennifer Smith Claudia Strange Celia Swanson Emeritus Directors Robert G. Cress Don Edmondson Henry Rogers, MD *Current as of March 31, 2017
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Champions For Children Arkansas Children’s Hospital earned Magnet® recognition—a symbol of excellence recognized all over the world. In fact, only 6% of all hospitals worldwide earn this honor. Magnet® means your child will get better faster. Magnet® means nurses spend more time at your child’s bedside. Magnet® means your child receives compassionate care from a world-class team.
Safety. Teamwork. Compassion. Excellence. That’s what you can expect when your child visits Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
To find excellent, compassionate medical care for your child, or to learn more about what Magnet® recognition means for your family, visit ARChildrens.org
We champion children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow. WWW.GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • ACHIEVER • A P R I L 2017
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Hope
for Tommorrow
Thanks to you, ZaNyla is a healthy, happy little girl BY ASHLEY LEOPOULOS
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fter a long night in a local emergency room, 18-month-old ZaNyla Hendrix lay asleep on her mother, Tammy’s, shoulder. She had her first seizure only a few hours before, and the physicians were unsure what was causing her so much pain. Early the next morning an Arkansas Children’s Angel One helicopter flew to Northwest Arkansas to transport ZaNyla and Tammy to Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Upon arrival, the ACH neurology team placed 24 tiny receivers on ZaNyla’s head to monitor her brain activity. Over the next week the Hendrix Family watched and waited for answers. With a clear EEG and CT scan, physicians recommended ZaNyla be monitored and placed on medication to control the seizures. However, ZaNyla’s seizures continued every few hours for up to 1 minute at a time. “Despite our fears, being at ACH was really comforting. They were trying everything they could to find out what was going on,” explains Tammy. “I spent time in the chapel and instead of asking ‘why ZaNyla, Lord?’ I asked, ‘Why not ZaNyla, Lord?’ She’s strong and I know she will get through this.” Five physicians monitored ZaNyla’s progress. She was placed on several different medications to see which one
would control the seizures. Tammy timed each seizure and made note of when they occurred so a pattern could be established. ZaNyla’s diagnosis still remains a medical mystery, but the seizures have become less frequent thanks to medication. Every sixth months ZaNyla visits Dr. Tonya Balmakund in the ACH Clinic in Lowell for a checkup. With every growth spurt, her seizure medication dosage is adjusted. Dr. Balmakund also monitors ZaNyla’s development, making sure her speech and motor skills are on track. ZaNyla is now in preschool and is a thriving little girl. She has been seizure-free since February 2016. With the opening of Arkansas Children’s Northwest, ZaNyla will be able to receive the follow-up care she needs close to home. “With ZaNyla, she knows she has to go to ACH to see her seizure doctor but she’s not afraid,” says Tammy. “You never think you’ll be one of those families who need this facility. ACH went above and beyond for our family providing comfort and love. ZaNyla wasn’t just a patient or a number to them.” As an Ambassador family this year, ZaNyla and Tammy look forward to spreading the word about Arkansas Children’s. “We take everything one day at a time with our Nyla Bug,” says Tammy. “Our family can’t imagine a day without her!”
YOU CAN HELP. Your generous support of Arkansas Children’s puts smiles on the faces of children every day. To make a gift, use the enclosed envelope or go to giving.archildrens.org 4
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Saving Isaiah Because of you, Arkansas Children’s Hospital was there when this family needed it the most BY BECKY MCCAULEY
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saiah was just a toddler when he fell ill with a high fever and began having seizures. He was rushed to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with roseola followed by encephalitis. Roseola is a common childhood illness that usually occurs in children 12 to 20 months of age. It starts with a high fever followed by a rash. But encephalitis following roseola is rare. Encephalitis is a serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, causing seizures and other complications. Isaiah is only the 43rd person ever to be diagnosed with encephalitis following roseola. According to Isaiah’s mom Jennifer, it was a very scary time. “My child was completely normal, then ‘boom!’ He had seizures for four straight days. Isaiah was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at ACH where they worked to bring down his fever. For two weeks, they couldn’t tell us if he would live.” Isaiah remained at ACH for 10 weeks, during which an exhausted Jennifer never left his side. She says, “He couldn’t sleep. The only thing that would calm him was rocking him. So that’s what I did.” Because of the trauma to Isaiah’s brain, his doctors were concerned he’d never walk, talk or even eat. But Jennifer was determined this wouldn’t be her son’s fate. “Within two weeks of his release from the hospital, he was sitting up! Now, at 14, he walks everywhere, jabbers all the time and eats like a pig,” she says with a smile. Physically, Isaiah is perfectly healthy and visits the dentist at ACH regularly. Developmentally
and mentally, Isaiah is in the 3-year-old range, but that doesn’t slow him down. He is outgoing and full of life. His favorite activity is watching game shows, especially Deal or No Deal. He also enjoys horseback riding, Cabbage Patch dolls—his “beebies“— riding 4-wheelers and shopping for shoes. “Isaiah is a walking miracle,” says Jennifer. “He loves to meet people, and we love to tell his ACH story. I hope it encourages families going through something similar, and they’ll come away with a better understanding what the amazing team at ACH can do.” Jennifer works as a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at ACH. She says, “My experience with Isaiah at ACH made me want to work here. It was a chance to give back to the hospital that gave me so much.” She adds, “I’m very proud of Isaiah. He humbles me every day. Don’t feel sorry for me because I’m the one who’s blessed. Every day, Isaiah makes us stronger and more thankful for what we have.”
“Isaiah’s experience at ACH made me want to work here. It was a chance to give back to the hospital that gave me so much.” – Jennifer Batterton
WWW.GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • ACHIEVER • A P R I L 2017
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WHY WE GIVE Gibson Family Furthers Son’s Legacy with Gift to Arkansas Children’s Research Institute
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n December 2016, the Ryan Gibson Foundation made a generous gift of $500,000 to research surrounding precision medicine— medical care designed for an individual based on his or her environment, lifestyle and genetic makeup—at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. The foundation has supported cancer programs around the country throughout the past 10 years, but this is the largest in its history. Ryan’s struggle with leukemia began when he was 19. He had just finished his first year majoring in biomedical and electrical engineering at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He’d been named a Top 10 Freshman and had been inducted into the Hyer Society, which recognizes undergraduates who distinguish themselves through high academic achievement. In his father, Don Gibson’s words, his son was, “A real bright young man.” This bright young man was on his way to fulfilling a lifelong ambition to become a doctor. He wanted to be a researcher and scientist. He wanted to find a cure for cancer. Then Ryan noticed a spot on his eye. He was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 1995. Don remembers sitting next to his son in the hospital waiting room when they got the diagnosis. Ryan turned to him and said, “Don’t worry, Dad. This will make me a better doctor.” In February 1996, Ryan took a break from college classes to prepare for a bone marrow transplant. The transplant was successful, but he suffered a severe reaction to the experimental medication—the dosage
was too high—and he remained hospitalized for the next eight months. Ryan was released from the hospital on December 31, weak but leukemia free. He returned to SMU in the spring of 1998 and graduated magna cum laude in May 2000. Armed with his biology degree, Ryan passed the medical school entrance exam and was excited to learn he’d been accepted to several top medical schools. But life had other plans. Before he could even decide which school to attend, Ryan was stricken with pneumonia. His immune system, weakened from the leukemia and bone marrow transplant, couldn’t fight it off. After a short, difficult struggle, Ryan passed away on January 30, 2001. He was 25 years old. Don muses about the days surrounding the loss of his son, and the impact the foundation has had on cancer programs at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and around the country. “Ryan’s fraternity brothers stood by Ryan throughout his struggles with leukemia and pneumonia,” Don says. “The night we lost Ryan, one of them said to my wife Carol and me, ‘We’re not going to let Ryan’s mission in life die with him. We will continue working to find a cure for leukemia.’ “And 10 years later, here we are. We’re so excited about this gift,” continues Don. “The Arkansas Children’s Research Institute is on the leading edge of looking at people as individuals and developing appropriate treatments based on that person’s needs. If we’d had precision medicine when Ryan was sick, he might still be here today.”