Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.
On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next 10 weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.
A group of 10 children sitting in a circle took turns saying each word over and over. Once the circle was complete, the pace quickened until you could barely understand what the children were saying.
Eventually, the group erupted in laughter and applause.
“We went around in seven seconds!” one child exclaimed.
“I bet we can do it even faster,” another proclaimed.
The wordplay exercise was one of many activities held July 25 – July 29 at Camp For All 2 U, an adaptation of Camp For All, a unique, barrier free camp in Burton, Texas, that works in partnership with other non-profits such as Texas Children’s Hospital to enrich the lives of children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs.
Camp For All 2 U brings the activities campers enjoy in Burton – music, drama, arts and crafts, and more – to Texas Children’s Hospital so that children whose current medical conditions prevent them from traveling do not exclude them from experiencing the wonders of camp.
Child Life Specialist Sarah Coltman, who has been collaborating with Camp For All to bring the experience to Texas Children’s Hospital, said the first annual event was a success and treated dozens of patients and their siblings to a much needed break from every-day hospital life.
“It’s been really nice to see these kids and their parents laughing and having fun,” she said. “We hope to bring our patients and their families this opportunity again next year.”
Camp For All Program Supervisor Allen McBride said campers in Burton always come in very shy and reserved but leave laughing, smiling and not wanting to go home. He said it was no different at Texas Children’s.
“They all seemed to have a really good time,” he said, adding that many campers met other patients and made friends.
Nine-year-old Braden Sing said he had a wonderful time at camp and that the carnival activities were his favorite. Braden has been at Texas Children’s for almost a month. He and his little sister attended camp all week.
“This is really cool,” Braden’s mother, Michelle, said. “It’s given him a chance to do some of the things he’s missed this summer.”
Gallery of photos from event:
Take a look at the community engagement and unique opportunities provided by the inaugural year of our partnership with the Houston Texans.
Texas Children’s is dedicated to supporting you in achieving optimal health and well-being. That is why we are pleased to invite you to participate in Go for the Gold, a well-being challenge that encourages you to be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day for a minimum of 20 days.
The challenge is taking place August 1 through August 31, to parallel the Rio Summer Olympics. Registration is now open! Click here to sign up for the challenge. For challenge details, visit the Wellness site.
To support you along the way, we are also pleased to invite you to our Go for the Gold kick-off events at Main and West Campuses on Wednesday, August 3 and to our group exercise classes happening throughout the month of August. Click here to learn more.
On July 26, 10-year-old Joseph Fleming received a big surprise from his favorite baseball team when Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and pitcher Lance McCullers visited him at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
Fleming was diagnosed with a rare cancer in his liver and lungs, and his family and friends wanted to cheer him up. After his story aired on KPRC, one thing led to another before this lucky Astros fan and aspiring big league pitcher got a chance to hang out with his favorite Astros players.
Houston Texan’s J.J. Watt surprised one of his biggest fans, 9-year old Will Martinez, when he dropped by the family’s home for dinner thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Three years ago, Martinez was diagnosed with leukemia. On July 19, he reached an incredible milestone when he rang the end-of-treatment bell at the Cancer Center.
In this ESPN video, Martinez shows Watts what it means to have “Will Power.”
July 28, 2016
Elevator maintenance is scheduled for Texas Medical Center garage 2 for the next two weekends beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, July 30.
The west side elevators (St. Luke’s end of the garage) will be unavailable from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 30. Both elevator cars will be out of service.
The east side elevators will be in service and available during this time.
Employees who normally park in garage 2 can park in Clinical Care Tower garage 16 on weekends.
July 26, 2016 Samantha Stover (above right) and Andi Lewis (below right) provide genetic counseling and support to their patients.
If you ask Samantha Stover what she enjoys most about being a prenatal genetic counselor, her answer is simple – empowering her patients with the knowledge and emotional support they need to make an informed health care decision.
Whether it’s ruling out a specific genetic condition or explaining all the genetic risks associated with a current or future pregnancy, Stover is a tireless advocate for her patients helping them navigate through this emotional journey of information gathering and genetic testing.
“Disclosing abnormal results or talking about potential syndromes or problems for a pregnancy is never easy,” said Stover, a genetic counselor at Texas Children’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine clinic. “We owe it to our patients to answer their questions and help them come to an informed decision about whether or not they want to have a genetic test and how they want to manage their care after the test results.”
As a liaison between the physician and patient, genetic counselors are an important part of the health care team. Specially trained in the areas of basic science, medical genetics, psychology and epidemiology, genetic counselors work closely with our physicians from various pediatric subspecialties to evaluate a family’s risk of an inherited medical condition, decide what genetic tests to order, and interpret and use the test results to provide guidance to patients and their families. With over 20 genetic counselors at Texas Children’s alone, spread across many subspecialties, genetic counselors play a unique role that illustrates the importance of genetics in all areas of medicine.
Genetic counseling can be a very time-intensive process with a new patient appointment typically ranging from 45 to 60 minutes. Much preparation occurs prior to the appointment, which involves gathering a patient’s medical records and history, drawing the family tree or pedigree, and researching various possible diagnoses and recommendations for genetic testing options for the family.
“Since genetics is a very fast-paced and rapidly evolving field, we have to stay up to date with current genetic research and testing to provide patients with the most accurate information and best care possible,” said Andi Lewis, a Texas Children’s pediatric genetic counselor in the general genetics, neurofibromatosis, and cardiovascular genetics clinics.
While Stover provides genetic counseling for pregnant patients and women who are planning to start a family, Lewis lends her expertise to families of children with suspected genetic disorders by guiding them through the process of achieving a diagnosis of a genetic syndrome.
In addition to meticulously reviewing genetic test results with a geneticist before sharing the results with families, Lewis writes genetic counseling letters to families explaining genetic diagnoses and their impact on the patient and family, as well as drafting letters of medical necessity to insurance companies to explain the rationale and need for genetic testing for each specific child.
As genetic counselors, Stover and Lewis don’t just provide information – another essential part of their responsibility is delivering emotional support to patients and families and connecting them to support groups and other resources during what can be a challenging and confusing time.
“I have been a shoulder to cry on when no one else could relate to the specifics of a patient’s case and they had no one to turn to,” Stover said. “I’ve seen families back for a new pregnancy after a devastating prior loss or a long battle of recurrent miscarriages or infertility. I’ve celebrated with some after great outcomes and I’ve secretly cried with others. But above all, the impact my patients have had on me is indescribable and that’s what makes this job so amazing.”
Whether delivering good or not so good news to patients and their families, empowering them with the knowledge to make an informed decision lies at the heart of genetic counseling.
“With genetics being a growing component of many other subspecialties, and a rapidly evolving field, there is a huge demand and need for genetic counselors to work within all areas of medicine so that we can help our patients and families understand the potential impact that genetics can play on their lives while supporting them throughout the process,” said Pilar Magoulas, pediatric genetic counselor at Texas Children’s and chief of the Division of Genetic Counseling at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics.
“Assisting families with obtaining genetic testing requires dedication, but it is also worth it when we can either rule out a condition or end that family’s “diagnostic odyssey,” Lewis said. “My goal is that the information I give empowers the families I serve at Texas Children’s.”
Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.
