April 22, 2014

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The BP MS 150 is a two-day bicycle ride from Houston to Austin organized by the National MS Society: Lone Star Chapter to raise funds to fight against the devastating neurological disorder multiple sclerosis. Since 2006, Texas Children’s Hospital has sponsored its own team of riders who have helped raise more than $1.53 million to date for the cause.

In 2014, Team Texas Children’s consisted of 218 registered riders, with 183 actually completing the ride on April 12-13. The 2014 team will raise more than $220,000 this year. In addition to the riders, approximately 100 employees and community volunteers gave their time to hand out snacks, haul luggage, blow up air mattresses, set up the overnight tent in La Grange and provide other much-needed and much-appreciated support.

Did you know?

  • The BP MS 150 is the largest event of its kind in North America.
  • The first MS 150 Houston to Austin bike tour was held in 1985, with 237 cyclists raising just over $100,000.
  • Since 2007, the wildly popular event has been capped at 13,000 riders.
  • Since surpassing the $15 million mark for the first time in 2008, the BP MS 150 has raised an average of $16 million per year.
  • This year’s ride is expected to raise around $18.5 million for MS.
  • A “fashion show” of sorts, teams compete to have the most creative, colorful and distinctive jersey designs.
  • Team Texas Children’s is among the most popular and most recognizable, winning multiple competitions for Best Jersey in recent years.
  • In 2014, four of the top 300 fundraisers rode on Team Texas Children’s.
  • In 2014, Team Texas Children’s riders ranged in age from 12-74 years old, with seven children under the age of 18 participating.

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Texas Children’s patients recently had the chance to learn more about hospital procedures during the annual Teddy Bear Clinic on The Auxiliary Bridge during Child Life Week.

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You know when all the magazines, books and all your friends begin to tell you that the second trimester of your pregnancy will be this euphoric honeymoon filled with bunnies and sunshine? You’ll gain all your energy back, you’ll glow with perfect skin and shiny hair, you’ll basically be able to take on the world and find the solution for world peace… You know what I think? I think they have all conspired against me (and the rest of the pregnant population) and are partially lying.

Yes, I gained some energy back – but instead of reorganizing furniture, cleaning my gutters, hand washing my car in the front drive or crocheting a blanket – I took all those 4 extra minutes of energy and spent them eating everything in my kitchen. Literally, everything. You know you’ve hit a low in your adult life when your husband catches you eating a grilled cheese in the bathtub late at night. I was caught, like a deer in headlights, enjoying the ooey-gooey-cheesy goodness (in PEACE!) when he “thought something was wrong” and busted in the bathroom like Hercules. No, nothing was wrong. It’s just me, your wife, sitting in the bubble-less tub, eating a golden crispy grilled cheese at 9:20 p.m. I figured I would rather get crumbs in the drainable tub and multi-task (I am becoming a mom right?) than waste any more precious time by having tub time pre or post grilled cheese. Men – then just don’t get it.

So besides eating everything in sight (HEB is still in business because of me) and also thinking about going over to the neighbor’s house to eat their food, since they have a teenage boy and I can assume their pantry is well stocked, one lovely pregnancy symptom decided to rear its annoying little head, headaches. I’m not prone to headaches, and now I can say with true humbleness – those who are headache sufferers, I don’t know how you manage. Anything I did gave me a headache! Reading, driving, cooking, thinking, feeding the dogs. I succumbed to my ailment and decided to pull one of the limited “Can you do this for me” cards I have during my pregnancy – and handed over my domestic duties to my husband. I literally would lie in bed for hours just thinking about what I could do, to make the ache behind my eyeballs go away. I am not a girl who enjoys taking medicine (crazy I work at TCH and all the doctors reading this are putting me on their black list), but my philosophy is: if you are vomiting or bleeding to death – then it’s OK to pop an Advil. I waddled over to our measly medicine cabinet, took out a Tylenol and a steak knife, and proceeded to cut the pill in half. My husband walked in, took one look at me with a steak knife and pill bottle, and briskly walked right out. When this brilliant idea didn’t do jack for my headache – I finally sent a message via the TCH-MyChart App to my OB nurse at the Pavilion, who is on Dr. Ivey’s team. She immediately called me and said “Wait Kelli, you actually cut the Tylenol pill in half? (I think I heard her and the rest of the third floor Pavilion laughing) “That’s really not going to do anything.” I was defeated by her giggles and the Tylenol bottle that was staring and mocking me. Finally, under her direction, I took a whole two Tylenol pills and whaa-laa, headache gone. Doctors are miracle workers! I secretly continued to say I was achy, so my sweet and doting husband would feed the dogs, and clean up the bathroom since there were grilled cheese crumbs pretty much everywhere. The moral of this story: headaches are terrible, food is awesome, but the TCH – Pavilion OB Staff is incredible and the MyChart App is a lifesaver! If you don’t have it, download it! My nurse replied to my cries for help, within minutes.

One thing I will say about the second trimester that is AMAZING, is feeling the first little kick. I was sitting in the parking lot, otherwise known as 610 at San Felipe, when I felt this teeny tiny flick. I immediately stopped singing Foreigner at the top of my lungs, and waited in silence for more flicks. About two more flicks happened, then little Baby Calderwood decided it had enough exercise for one day. It was truly amazing. I called my husband at work and was screaming on the phone like a little girl who sees Cinderella’s castle for the very first time up close and personal. Again, I think he is keeping a list of all my crazies so he has evidence when I say “I’ve never acted like that.” Anyway, it was a blessing and a miracle to feel those teeny tiny flicks. Ever since that day, Baby Calderwood has made it a habit to give me at least a few good kicks during the day.

In the last week my mind has been preoccupied with flowers, dresses and bows. We recently found out that Baby Calderwood is a GIRL! Of course my husband and I would be SUPER excited with any baby the stork wanted to bring us – but I think having a girl is really special. WE GET ANOTHER ME! (Just what my husband has always wanted.) My husband looked at me in the gender appointment, like he had just been hit with a Taser and said, “But the money – jewelry and weddings…… and boys.” I laughed pretty hard (at him, not with him) and told him to relax; we had some time before all that happened. He quickly snapped back with, “You didn’t know me as a little boy – we start flirting with the ladies early”….. So while Rico Suave comes up with a master plan of how to keep our beautiful baby girl out of the prowling eyes of toddler boys – I’ll keep awaiting her August arrival (and buying her bows and dresses!) Seven more weeks till the third trimester – then it’s game time!

Lastly, we decided to name our sweet baby girl, Amelia Grace Calderwood.

To read the first trimester experiences again, click here. Comment below and tell us what most shocked you about pregnancy!

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The Spring 2014 graduates of the Texas Children’s Hospital Lean Six Sigma Green Belt program received their certifications at a ceremony on March 31. Since February 2009, the Department of Business Process Transformation has trained more than 150 employees including physicians, directors, managers and other informal leaders including front line staff members on the Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodology. More than 80 percent of the candidates trained in the program went on to complete the requirements for certification, with more students approaching their project close dates this summer.

The Texas Children’s certification recognizes candidates who provide statistically significant evidence that their process improvement project resulted in positive outcomes in quality, cost or cycle time metrics. Certified Green Belts at Texas Children’s include representation from inpatient/outpatient areas, ancillary departments, Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP), Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Baylor and Texas Children’s Physician Service Organization (TCPSO). The certification ceremonies are held annually each spring.

The Department of Business Process Transformation offers Lean Belt Training (a prerequisite for Green Belt) now available for enrollment through the Learning Academy.

Dr. Huda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI), will receive the 2014 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental biology at a ceremony held in Vancouver on May 5. The award, given annually, honors investigators whose research has profoundly advanced the science that underlies the understanding of birth defects.

Zoghbi’s best known for her pioneering work on Rett syndrome, a cause she first became passionate about after encountering children with the disease during her residency. She’s since been tireless in her efforts to find the genetic cause of the syndrome. In 1999, she was successful in identifying the Rett gene, providing a definitive genetic diagnoses for the condition and allowing a biological understanding and search for treatment.

“Dr. Zoghbi’s contributions to our understanding of several entirely different neurological disorders, including her finding of the genetic basis of Rett syndrome, have opened new areas of research,” says Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, senior vice president for Research and Global Programs at the March of Dimes. “Her work influences the entire field of autism and other neuropsychiatric disorders.”

Rett syndrome is a genetic neurological disease that affects young girls who are born with the disease and develop normally for one to two years until they show progressive loss of motor skills, speech and cognitive abilities. Males with the condition usually die in infancy.

Zoghbi will deliver the 19th annual March of Dimes Lecture titled “Rett Syndrome and MECP2 Disorders: From the Clinic to Genes and Neurobiology,” during the Pediatric Academy Societies annual meeting. She will receive the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology in a special award ceremony held during the meeting. Given annually, the March of Dimes Foundation created the prize in 1995 as a tribute to Dr. Jonas Salk, a pioneer in the development of the polio vaccine.
The March of Dimes Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.

April 15, 2014

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On April 5, more than 3,000 Houston-area residents participated in the Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Marathon Foundation Family Fun Run. The race, held at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, included non-competitive 1K and 3K races.

Following the race, families enjoyed the post-race Family Fun Zone, sponsored by H-E-B, which included food, refreshments, activities and games. This race, formerly known as the Kids’ Fun Run, has a rich history of more than 15 years. The event’s goal was to help educate and encourage Houston-area children and their families to adopt active, healthy lifestyles.

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The Texas Children’s Fetal Center proudly announces the birth of baby Cabellotrejo, a boy born healthy at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women following a complex pregnancy that included open fetal surgery. Early in the pregnancy, doctors diagnosed baby boy Cabellotrejo with a large lung mass, called congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation, or CCAM. Mom and baby were transferred from their hometown of Austin, where the team at the Fetal Center intervened with an open fetal surgery that saved the baby’s life.

During the procedure, which took place on January 16, 2014, the Fetal Center team partially removed the baby from her mother’s womb, opened the baby’s chest and removed the giant mass, returning him safely back into his mother’s womb less than 30 minutes later. The fetal heart failure resolved, and the baby and mother subsequently recovered smoothly; mom remained pregnant for 11(+) weeks before she delivered her health baby boy.

A CCAM is an abnormal growth of malformed lung tissue that is the result of abnormal organ development. The adenomatous overgrowth of terminal bronchioles and reduced number of normal alveoli may cause significant pulmonary effects. It is incredibly rare for these malformations to grow to such a large size as to lead to fetal heart failure, a condition that is very difficult to treat prenatally. The fetus continued to deteriorate despite medical treatment.

“Fetal surgery was the only hope for this baby boy who was sure to die without surgical intervention. The good outcome achieved in this case is the result of great teamwork, including the contributions by our expert fetal radiologists, cardiologists and maternal fetal surgery team. I am so pleased this baby has recovered fully and now has the hope of a completely normal life,” said Dr. Cass, co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center, and lead surgeon on this case.

In addition to an expert OR team, nurse coordinators and pediatric anesthesiologists, a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including: Dr. Darrell Cass, Dr. Oluyinka O. Olutoye, Dr. Wesley Lee, Dr. Michael Belfort, Dr. Nancy Ayres, Dr. Rodrigo Ruano, Dr. Christopher Cassady and Dr. Alireza Shamshirsaz worked together on the case.

To date, only two other centers in the world have been successful at treating this rare and complex medical condition. Texas Children’s Hospital has performed 59 open fetal surgeries since 2003, but seeing that healthy baby enter the world never gets old.

“Baby Cabellotrejo is a fighter and a survivor. We are ecstatic that his parents have delivered a healthy baby boy,” said Cass, of the Fetal Center’s latest patient success.