Meet Our Kids
Lucy
Lucy was diagnosed shortly after birth with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, or CAH. People with this condition are unable to make the stress hormone cortisol, and can become very ill in times of physical stress. Her first year was very traumatic, with weekly weight checks and monthly heel pricks. She had stopped growing and weighed only 15 pounds for several months. At one year of age Lucy entered a Life History Study at the National Institutes of Health. At that time she was referred to Dr. Laura Chalmers, a Pediatric Endocrinologist at OU Children’s Physicians.
Thanks to the cooperative care between her medical teams at Children’s and NIH, today Lucy is an extremely active and outgoing preschooler. She is counting the days till the next CAH family meeting, which is a priceless support connection our family has made through Children’s. She will be on replacement doses of hormones for life due to the adrenal insufficiency associated with CAH, but with her family and medical team behind her, there’s nothing she can’t do!
Brock
Brock was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in October 2009, just days before his first birthday. During his first round of chemo, he contracted a life-threatening fungal infection that spread throughout his entire body and caused him to spend seven weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center. Brock was in the hospital for a consecutive 19 weeks after diagnosis before he was healthy enough to return home. He has endured more than 20 ct scans and 12 surgeries.
Brock’s leukemia is still in remission. However, he continues to fight the fungal infection which has caused damage to his lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen, brain, and eyes. On April 7, 2011 Brock unexpectedly stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. The doctors at Children’s Hospital did a wonderful job caring for him and today Brock is living proof that miracles happen!
Rhett
Rhett was born on April 1, 2008 at only 25 weeks gestation and weighed only 1 lb, 16 oz. He was immediately rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He remained in the NICU for 90 days under the wonderful care of Dr. Marilyn Escobedo, Dr. Anne Wlodaver, several other team members and a truly amazing nursing staff. During his first winter at home, Rhett received RSV shots and has zero complications.
He is thriving and now runs, plays, loves to meet new people and adores trains. Rhett is truly a miracle and his parents could never thank the NICU at The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center enough!
Nathan
In October of 2009 Nathan’s parents noticed a change in his tummy and scheduled a doctor’s appointment. After a series of tests, Nathan was diagnosed with a Wilms’ tumor, stage 3 kidney cancer. Surgery was immediately scheduled for the following day. On Friday, October 23 precious Nathan underwent a successful surgery to remove the diseased kidney .and tumor. Following some lingering symptoms, the doctors discovered that Nathan had a slight “kink” in his intestines, so just days after the first major surgery; he had to undergo yet another surgery.
Nathan is now fighting this beast called cancer! He finished radiation treatment. He underwent 31 weeks of chemotherapy. Nathan is a warrior who is full of life and laughter. .
Sam
Sam was born in November 2005. Two weeks after his birth, Sam’s family received a letter stating his newborn screening was irregular. Ten days later, a follow up test confirmed Sam had Cystic Fibrosis. Since that diagnosis, Sam has been on a heavy regimen of enzymes, chest physical therapy and breathing treatments. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.
Sam is now a very active and loves playing at the park, collecting bugs, drawing, riding his bike and performing experiments. When he grows up Sam says he wants to be a scientist so he doesn’t have to live with Cystic Fibrosis anymore. Thanks to all of those who are helping to find a cure, he just might.
