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 several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.
These days, it’s hard not to see gold throughout our hospital campus. From gold ribbons to gold T-shirts and gold pins worn by our physicians and staff, to a holiday tree decked out in gold, Texas Children’s Cancer Center is making a gold splash to raise community awareness about childhood cancer throughout the month of September.
“Going gold is a way for us both to honor the courageous journeys of our patients and families who have been touched by pediatric cancer and to create awareness on a national level about the challenges these children face,” said Dr. David Poplack, director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center. “This is also a special time to honor our staff and everyone involved in the care and support of our patients and their families at the Cancer Center.”
To officially kick off September’s cancer awareness activities, two gold ribbon tying ceremonies were held on September 1 and 2 – one on The Auxiliary Bridge at Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus and the other at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.
Along with remarks from Drs. Poplack, ZoAnn Dreyer, and Chaplain Pat Krinock, patients and their families, and the Cancer Center faculty and staff, were touched with emotion when Christian Spear, a former Texas Children’s patient and 17-year cancer survivor, sang “The Bell Song,” an inspirational song she co-wrote with Anita Kruse, founder and executive director of Purple Songs Can Fly.
“This is a special tribute to all of the children who are battling cancer right now,” Spear said. “The song’s lyrics are a constant reminder that a cure is very close.”
At West Campus, patients, families and staff celebrated Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with a “Go Gold” Parade. The procession of children riding tricycles and wagons decorated with gold ribbons started on the third floor and proceeded outside the entrance of the hospital where the ribbon tying ceremony was held.
West Campus Vice President Matt Schaefer and his sister-in-law, Kerri Schaefer, shared their stories of how a childhood cancer diagnosis impacted their family.
“Malachi’s diagnosis and subsequent battle with childhood cancer changed our family forever, just as it does all families,” Schaefer said. “Although my nephew has been gone more than nine years, we will never forget him or the incredible care that he and our family received at Texas Children’s Hospital.”
Throughout the month of September, the fenced walkway and garden area at West Campus and the gold banner on The Auxiliary Bridge will be adorned with 630 gold ribbons, one for each child diagnosed with pediatric cancer in the past year at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.
“It is estimated that more than 15,700 children nationwide will be diagnosed with a form of pediatric cancer by the end of this year,” Poplack said. “While we are curing 80 percent of pediatric cancers, as pediatric oncologists, our job is not over until every child is cured of this disease.”
View a photo gallery below. To learn more about Texas Children’s Cancer Center, click here.
Upcoming cancer awareness activities:
Friday, September 9 – Lace Up for Life Walk (1 p.m.), West Tower, eighth floor
Saturday, September 10 – Making a Mark opening reception (2 – 4 p.m.), The Auxiliary Bridge
Saturday, September 17 – Sickle Cell Education and Research Day (11 am. to 3 p.m.)
Friday, September 23 – Ewing Sarcoma Symposium (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), PFW fourth floor, E and F
Tuesday, September 27 – Visit/appearance by Houston Texans Devon Still (11 a.m.)
Earlier this summer, one of Texas Children’s patients Jeston Adams’ dreams came true – the 8-year-old got to meet his hero J.J. Watt. Since then, Jeston’s relationship with the Houston Texans football player has grown into a full-fledged friendship that has kept him going during his search for a new heart.
To Watt and Jeston’s amazement, that search ended three weeks ago when congenital heart surgeon Dr. Iki Adachi implanted a new heart into Jeston’s chest. The Louisiana native is recovering and being cared for by Dr. Jeff Dreyer, medical director of the Heart Transplant Program, and other members of the Heart Center team.
“Jeston has a very infectious personality,” Dreyer said. “He’s had a great attitude and that’s contributed to his recovery.”
After his transplant, Jeston worked with Texas Children’s Child Life team to create a video for the man he calls his big brother. Watt shared the video on social media.
“He has been a warrior through it all and handled it with such a positive attitude,” Watt wrote on Instagram. “He truly is an incredible kid with an amazing spirit. No matter what gets us down in life, how bad we feel or how negative the situation may seem, if we keep a positive attitude and fight with everything we’ve got, incredible things are possible. That’s what Jeston has taught me.”
Click here to watch CBS 11 KHOU’s update on Jeston.
August 30, 2016
Texas Children’s Pediatrics had a very special visit this week from Olympic gold medalist Simone Manuel, the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in a swimming event.
Shortly after returning from Rio to her hometown of Sugar Land, Manuel visited Texas Children’s Pediatrics Green Park to see her long-time pediatrician Dr. Michael Connelly.
“Our entire Green Park office was excited to see Simone and her 100-meter freestyle Gold,” Connelly said. “Last September she was kind enough to bring her gold medal from the World Championship in Barcelona (4X100 relay) for me to see. Admittedly, when I saw her on my schedule this week I hoped she would bring Olympic Gold, and she didn’t disappoint.”
Manuel set an Olympic record by tying Canada’s Penny Oleskiak in the women’s 100-meter freestyle, and she helped the U.S. take gold in the 4X100-meter medley relay. She also landed silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4X100-meter freestyle race.
“When she won the 100-meter freestyle, I must admit I got emotional, even a bit teary eyed – such an accomplishment for a wonderful young lady,” Connelly said of his patient of more than 14 years. “Simone is a world class athlete but also world class in every sense. She is smart, kind, always pleasant and a joy to be with. She was most patient and engaging with the staff while we admired her gold.”
Congratulations Simone from the entire Texas Children’s family!
August 23, 2016
After a thrilling three weeks, the Olympic Games Rio 2016 ended with closing ceremonies on Sunday, but Texas Children’s Employee Health and Wellness team is challenging you to keep going for the gold. The Go for the Gold well-being challenge, which kicked off on August 1, encourages staff and employees to be physically active for 30 minutes a day for at least 20 days throughout the month. The challenge ends Wednesday, August 31, so there’s still time to finish strong.
To help give you that final push to the finish line, the Marketing/PR Department has partnered with Employee Health and Wellness, and is giving you a chance to win two tickets to the Houston Texans vs Tennessee Titans football game on October 2. The Texans-Titans game is sponsored by Texas Children’s Hospital and will celebrate the National Football League’s Play 60 campaign. Play 60 encourages children to be active 60 minutes a day to help decrease childhood obesity.
How do you win the tickets? Well, if the Olympic games and the Go for the Gold challenge got you moving, tell us how you’re doing. Let us know how you’re getting your minutes of physical activity in regularly. Are you taking bike rides with your family? Working it out in Zumba with co-workers? Or making laps around the medical center? Click here, and tell us how you’re getting physical, and you will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to the Texans vs Titans game at noon Sunday, October 2. So that’s it – tell us your game plan, and we will select 25 lucky winners to each receive a pair of tickets.
The deadline to enter the drawing for the Texans tickets is Wednesday, August 31. You must be enrolled in the Go for the Gold challenge to be eligible to win.
To enroll in the challenge, click here. Winners will be announced in September.
For more details about the hospital’s partnership with the Texans click here.
More about Play 60
As part of the Play 60 initiative, Texas Children’s and the Texans sponsor the Play 60 Challenge, a six-week program at Houston-area middle schools aimed at getting students excited about developing a healthy lifestyle. Also part of the Play 60 umbrella is the Play 60 Grant, which is $50,000 in grants designed to help schools with equipment for P.E., sports, or after-school programs that will get them moving.
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 several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.
The Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program has expanded with the addition of the CARESQUAD, a bright yellow mini-mobile clinic generously donated to the hospital by The Jerold B. Katz Foundation.
The clinic will help carry out the mission of the Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program, which is to provide underserved children in the Houston area with comprehensive health care and preventive education. The smaller size of the new mobile clinic will allow caregivers to reach children and families who live in and around neighborhoods with limited parking and narrow streets.
“The addition of the CARESQUAD to the Mobile Clinic Program is going to make a huge difference in the lives of so many children and their families,” said Dr. Sanghamitra Misra, medical director of the Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program. “We are excited about getting the clinic on the road and are grateful to the Katz family for making the clinic possible.”
At a recent dedication of the CARESQUAD mini-mobile clinic, Evan H. Katz said his family is thrilled to unveil the clinic and is confident it will go a long way in helping area children receive basic health care.
“For our family, this gift is special,” Katz said. “It is close to our hearts because we realize that we are assisting families with that most necessary ingredient to a good life – health.”
In addition to the program’s newest addition, The Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program is composed of two clinics: the Superkids Mobile Clinic and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. During the school year, the Super Kids Mobile Clinic travels primarily to Houston Independent School District schools, community centers and churches in the Southwest Gulfton area. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile travels primarily to HISD schools and community centers in the Southeast Hobby area. The CARESQUAD will be used all over the region, accessing places the clinics have not been able to reach before.
The clinics provide free vaccinations to those who qualify for the Texas Vaccines for Children program and also provide free well child visits, sick visits and hearing or vision screenings for uninsured children in the Houston area. In addition, both mobile clinics have pharmacies that are stocked with common medications that are provided free of charge to uninsured families. Providers can perform common laboratory tests and educate all patients coming through the clinic about the different insurance options available to them. In the summer, the clinics travel throughout the Houston area and surrounding areas to provide free vaccines to children before the school year starts.
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.
