BECOMING PATIENTS
FRIENDSHIP SPARKS LIFESAVING TREATMENT
Doug Quinn was looking to fill his dinner table at a charity auction in 2011 when he felt inspired to give half the seats away to the American Heart Association. That decision not only changed his friendship circle forever, but it also led to a lifesaving relationship between his wife, Wendy, and a Houston Methodist physician, as well as a philanthropic commitment to battle the condition that almost took her life. That night, Doug immediately befriended his dining companions, Dr. Miguel A. Quiñones, the Winters Family Distinguished Centennial Chair in Cardiovascular Education, and his wife Maria. “We had a lot of things in common,” Doug recalls. “It started with the fact that my son’s name is Patrick Quinn and their grandson is named Patrick Quinn Kelly.” Later, Doug met Wendy and got married. The two couples held monthly dinners together, and the Quinns learned about the groundbreaking cardiovascular research Dr. Quiñones was conducting. Motivated by his friend’s work, Doug joined the Houston Methodist Heart Council and volunteered his time and talents to the hospital’s cardiovascular initiatives. Fast-forward a couple years, and the Quinns, now more connected with Houston Methodist, attended a hospital-sponsored golfing event in Aspen, Colorado. There, they met and befriended Dr. Gavin W. Britz, the Candy and Tom Knudson Distinguished Centennial Chair in Neurosurgery and
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Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation
director of the Neurological Institute. Their Houston Methodist friendship circle expanded. In 2017, Wendy began feeling a dull, persistent back pain that over-the-counter medicines could not shake. She struggled to find the cause of her pain, visiting one doctor after another. No one could solve the mystery. Finally, she made an appointment with an orthopedist at Houston Methodist, who correctly suspected Wendy had cancer in her spine. He referred her to her friend, neurosurgeon Dr. Britz. Dr. Britz was traveling abroad at the time, but he returned to Houston quickly to assess Wendy’s tumor. Unfortunately, it was inside the spinal cord and inoperable. Dr. Britz referred Wendy to his colleague, Dr. Ivo W. Tremont, a Houston Methodist neuro-oncologist for cancer care. As Dr. Tremont studied Wendy’s tumor, he learned it was an incredibly rare cancer. Wendy’s medical team initially estimated she had only six months to live. Nearly five years later, Wendy and Doug continue to fight her cancer together and challenge the odds. They felt the time was right to make a large philanthropic commitment to Houston Methodist to battle neuro-oncological tumors. After consulting carefully with their friends at Houston Methodist, the Quinns decided their gift would make the biggest impact divided evenly among three funds:
the Center for Translational Neural Prosthetics and Interfaces, the Quiñones Academic Fund, and the newly established Quinn & Zeng Foundation Neuro-Oncology Fund. The Quinns have supported many Houston Methodist initiatives over the years, but this recent gift signifies their commitment to neuroprosthetics, neuro-oncology and cardiovascular academic excellence. Most importantly, the gift creates the Quinn & Zeng Foundation Neuro-Oncology Fund, establishing a legacy for the husband-and-wife team and illustrating their desire to improve prognoses and outcomes for future patients with rare spinal tumors and other neuro-oncological diseases. The Quinn’s story demonstrates the power that friendships can have to inspire action. That one fateful evening when new friendships first blossomed inspired lifesaving connections and a legacy of time, talent and treasures. “My cancer has returned,” says Wendy. “It is spreading into the brain and bone, something the doctors have never seen before. I’m undergoing radiation now. We hope that, with our gift, the doctors will learn more about this cancer and share their discoveries, eventually helping more patients.” “Even if the treatment doesn’t work for Wendy, at least the doctors will know to try a different approach next time,” says Doug. “If anyone else is diagnosed with this cancer 10 years from now, we hope the oncologists will know how to treat it.”
