Champions THE MAGAZINE OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
Because of You, Kids Like Keagan Have
Hope for a Healthier Tomorrow
DECEMBER 2017
Your Gifts Matter at Arkansas Children’s
T
he holiday season is upon us—a season for giving thanks and counting our blessings. At Arkansas Children’s, we’re thankful for YOU! On the following pages you’ll see faces of children who are patients at Arkansas Children’s. These are just a few of the 350,000 patients seen at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and in outpatient clinics around the state every year. That’s 350,000 ways your gi s make a difference. Your support helps us do more for the children of Arkansas. What’s the next cure? What’s the next life-saving technique? How can we reach more children where they live, learn and play? Your gi s help us answer these questions and take action. Thank you. Because of you, we are able to envision a day when every child in Arkansas has quick, easy access to world-class clinical care, groundbreaking research, and injury prevention and education programs. Together, we can li Arkansas from the bo om 10 percent in child well-being and make it the safest, healthiest place to be a child. What be er holiday gi can you think of than that? Thank you for all you’ve done this year to make children be er today and healthier tomorrow. You truly are a champion for children.
Marcy Doderer, FACHE President and CEO Arkansas Children’s P.S. If you’d like to make another gi just in time for the holidays, you can visit giving.archildrens.org, call (800) 880-7491 or use the enclosed envelope. Thank you!
CHAMPIONS STAFF: Editor Becky McCauley Contributing Writers Becky McCauley, Caralisa Richardson Design C. Waynette Traub Photographers Badi Galinkin, Beth Hall, Ben Moody
Arkansas Children’s Foundation Board of Directors Chair Marcy Doderer, FACHE Vice Chair Charles B. Whiteside III Treasurer Jason LaFrance President Fred Scarborough, CFRE
Pat Allen Ritter Arnold Sharon Bale Ginger Blackmon Frances Buchanan Stuart Cobb Steve Davison Kirk Dupps Harry C. Erwin III Kim Fowler Sharilyn Gasaway Robin George Mike Gibson Sonja Yates Hubbard Jason LaFrance Sharon Lamb Jim McClelland Mandy Macke Barbara Moore Beverly Morrow Cindy Murphy Jake Nabholz Marshall Ney Terry Quinn Jennifer Schueck Belinda Shults Jennifer Smith Claudia Strange Celia Swanson Emeritus Directors Robert G. Cress Don Edmondson Henry Rogers, MD
*Current as of November 30, 2017
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YOUR
GIFTS
add up to big things this holiday season: $10 = Five pacifiers for babies in the Infant/Toddler Unit $25 = 18 aluminum finger splints for the Emergency Department $40 = Infant blood pressure cuff $75 = Final treatment party for a child with pediatric cancer $100 = Radio Flyer red wagon for patients to use in the hospital $150 = One IV pole $200 = One day’s worth of diapers $500 = 15 minutes in the sky for an Angel One helicopter $1,200 = An exam table for an outpatient clinic $3,600 = A stretcher to transport patients to and from surgery $5,000 = A blanket warmer for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit $10,000 = Two cribs for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Please give generously. The children of Arkansas need your help to get better today and be healthier tomorrow. Visit giving.archildrens.org or call (800) 880-7491 to make a gift. GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • D E C E MB ER 2 0 1 7
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Keagan’s
Journey With your help, Keagan continues to defy odds
BY BECKY MCCAULEY
S
even-year-old Keagan has been fighting a devastating illness most of his life. This amazing li le boy is unstoppable—he continues to astound his parents, his doctors and everyone he meets. Keagan was 13 months old when he started wobbling when he walked. At first, his mom Robin wasn’t worried. Toddlers wobble, a er all. But when Keagan began to vomit frequently, she made an appointment with his pediatrician, who diagnosed an ear infection and prescribed medicine. But Keagan didn’t get be er. When he became dehydrated, Robin took Keagan to the local emergency room. The doctor gave him fluids and said he could go home. But Robin’s intuition told her there was something seriously wrong. Thankfully, the doctors listened. Robin and Keagan were living in New York state at the time. Keagan was transported by ambulance to a nearby children’s hospital, where he was stabilized and given a ba ery of tests. Robin was horrified when an MRI showed a baseball-sized mass in his tiny brain. Her precious baby boy had cancer.
Keagan underwent an 11-hour surgery to remove the tumor. Doctors told Robin he would never talk, never walk, never even move. Robin says, “Essentially, they told me to take him home and love him as much as I could until he passed away.” But a er a week-long coma, Keagan started to move! His le eye was lazy and he couldn’t move his le arm or leg. But when Robin held Keagan, she held onto his right side to encourage him to use his le . Two months later, Keagan began to crawl. Unfortunately, right before his 3rd birthday, Keagan’s cancer came back. “When they remove this type of tumor, it’s like blowing on a dandelion,” Robin explains. “There is a strong possibility it will spread.” Over the last six years, the cancer has returned nine times in Keagan’s brain and spine. He has undergone more than 70 surgeries and hundreds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. His heart stopped beating three times. Keagan has been on a ventilator several
times, and the years of medication have damaged his hearing, an unfortunate side effect of several cancer-fighting drugs. In spite of all this, Keagan is a bright, curious, energetic boy. The scars that criss-cross his head and his bright-orange hearing aids are the only visible signs this amazing li le boy is in a constant fight for his life. Keagan continues, day a er day, week a er week, year a er year, to defy the odds. Robin is so grateful for Arkansas Children's Hospital— and for donors like you. “You really don’t know how much of a difference your generosity makes,” she says. “Your support makes a dark situation a lot brighter.”
Too many children in Arkansas will spend the holidays battling cancer and other illnesses. Your generous gifts to Arkansas Children’s help change the story for kids like Keagan. Thank you!
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HELP IN AN INSTANT
Thanks to you, Arkansas Children’s Hospital provides care close to home in the state’s premier pediatric emergency department
A
BY CARALISA RICHARDSON
er finding their 20-month-old son Rob’s head caught in a wooden toy box at their Faye eville home, the Bi le family feared the worst. “We thought he was dead,” recalls Claire, Rob’s mom. “We called 911, and I started doing CPR. Thankfully, he responded.” An ambulance took Rob to nearby Washington Regional. While in the emergency department, Rob had two seizures. Doctors called Angel One transport to airli him to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Li le Rock. “At that moment, I realized the seriousness of it. I think we just wanted it to not be that bad,” Claire says. The Angel One transport team arrived within what felt like minutes. “The team was amazing. One nurse in particular was like an angel herself. She grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘I want you to know this was not your fault,’ and I just broke down. In the chaos of it all I hadn’t allowed myself to cry. She was so comforting.” Once Rob was admi ed, his healthcare team hooked him up to an EEG, a test that detects electrical activity in your brain using small, flat metal discs a ached to your scalp. The results of the test would help Rob’s neurologist evaluate how his brain was responding a er being without oxygen.
“They monitored him all night, and thankfully, he didn’t have another seizure. He woke up the next morning acting like himself again. We were relieved,” Claire says. The next day was long. There was a lot of waiting and watching. A er reviewing Rob’s test results, his pediatric neurologist prescribed an anti-seizure medication for three months. When the family returned to ACH for Rob’s follow-up visit, he had another EEG. Everything looked normal, so he was taken off his medication and has done well ever since. As an active, energetic 3-year-old, he enjoys soccer and his gymnastics class. He loves reading books, playing with Legos and doing puzzles. “We were only at ACH for 48 hours. But, in that short amount of time, we were so grateful Rob was able to get such wonderful care tailored especially for him. Everyone was so nice and made everything easy. They explained what was happening each step of the way,” Claire says. The Bi le family is looking forward to Arkansas Children’s Northwest’s grand opening in early 2018. “ACNW will be such a blessing to families in Northwest Arkansas. Some things are so time sensitive. It will be wonderful to have a pediatric emergency department right here close to home,” says Claire.
“Arkansas Children’s helps children get the care they need right when they need it. And that is so important. Our children are our future.” —Claire Bittle, Fayetteville 6
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Why should you choose a pediatric emergency room for your child? The Emergency Department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, delivering expert pediatric care. What does this mean for children in Arkansas? 1. Specialized Doctors and Nurses Arkansas Children’s Hospital employs some of the best pediatric emergency medicine specialists from across the nation who are highly trained in caring specifically for children. 2. They Only Treat Children Roughly 20 percent of patients in a community emergency room are children. Most community emergency rooms are well-equipped and skilled when it comes to caring for adults, but their equipment isn’t designed for children. Further, much of their training isn’t wri en or practiced with children in mind. 3. Onsite Social Workers and Child Life Specialists No other emergency room in Central Arkansas is completely dedicated to children. The Emergency Department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital employs professionals whose sole responsibility is to communicate with your child on their level, making them feel comfortable, safe and valued.
“We want to let people know how wonderful Arkansas Children’s is. You’re not going to find anybody who cares about your child more than they do.” ~ CRISTIN ATHA, GRATEFUL PARENT OF JACE
Your Gift Matters
Jace Atha was born with a heart defect. Today, he’s a rambunctious 5-year-old boy, thanks to donors like you. Your generous support of Arkansas Children’s helps children like Jace get better today and be healthier tomorrow.
Thank you for being a champion for children! Visit giving.archildrens.org, call (800) 880-7491 or use the envelope found in this publication to mail your gift.