January 5, 2016

1616bookdonation640Three and half years ago, the Herrington family embarked on a journey that would lead them to Texas Children’s Hospital, a place that has since become near and dear to their hearts. Shortly after birth, the youngest member of the family, Parson Blue, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that attacked the infant’s lungs, leaving her in need of a transplant.

At just 11 months old, Parson got what she needed – two new lungs – and has been on the road to recovery ever since. Her mother, Jennifer Herrington, said throughout the process the amazing doctors and nurses at Texas Children’s became family.

“They not only cared for our child but our entire family,” Herrington said. “That care was not only life-changing but heart-changing as well.”

To thank the staff at Texas Children’s for what they did for Parson and what they do for so many other children each and every day, the Herringtons organized a book drive benefitting the hospital and honoring their daughter’s love for the written word. The drive turned out to be a bigger success than the family anticipated, allowing them to donate almost 3,000 books, all of which will be available to the thousands of patients treated at Texas Children’s year after year.

“We wanted to give back to the hospital that has been such a huge part of our lives,” Herrington said. “The donation of books to Texas Children’s Hospital is such a small return for what the organization has given to our family.”

To read more about Parson’s story, read Herrington’s blog here. To read about another family that donated a handmade toddler play yard to Texas Children’s to thank caregivers for helping their son recover from cancer, click here.

1616playyard640Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus received a special gift this holiday season from a former patient whose family wanted to thank caregivers for helping their son recover from cancer.

David Lauritzen, now a healthy 5-year-old, came to Texas Children’s a very sick toddler. After being diagnosed with cancer, David was put on an aggressive treatment plan of radiation and chemotherapy, much of which he received at West Campus.

The treatment and the tender loving care he received from Texas Children’s medical staff paid off, sending him into remission about a year after being diagnosed. In appreciation for the staff’s hard work and expertise, the Lauritzen family recently donated a handmade toddler play yard to West Campus.

The red and white play yard was made by David’s great-grandfather, Ronald McKee, who dedicated the toy to his grandson and traveled from Missouri to install the piece of equipment in the Surgery Waiting Room at West Campus.

David’s mother, Samantha Lauritzen, said the play yard is a small token of her family’s appreciation to all Texas Children’s employees who came into contact with her family during her son’s 14-month treatment period.

“They made an extremely difficult situation easier on all of us,” she said of the staff “To me, they are amazing.”

December 22, 2015

On New Year’s Day, 13-year old Peyton Richardson and her family will ride on a float at the 127th Rose Parade for Northwestern Mutual, the presenting sponsor for the 2016 Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, CA. The theme of this year’s parade is Find your Adventure.

Peyton, who was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in January 2015, is an aspiring ballerina who dreams of traveling around the world to visit the greatest ballet companies and to take a class with each of their principal dancers.

When Dr. Zoann Dreyer, her doctor at Texas Children’s Cancer Center, introduced her to Northwestern Mutual’s video contest, Peyton jumped at the opportunity to share her greatest adventure. Using her mother’s cell phone, she and her mom produced a video at home in their backyard.

After receiving numerous submissions from across the country, Northwestern Mutual selected Peyton’s video. Her greatest adventure and powerful message about not letting leukemia stop her from dreaming big are the inspiration for Northwestern Mutual’s float design aimed at raising awareness about childhood cancer.

“Cancer can take my hair. Cancer can take my school. Cancer can take some friends, but cancer is not going to take ballet,” said Carrie Richardson, as she recalled her daughter’s video message. “It was so powerful that Northwestern Mutual’s contest selection team fell in love with her.”

With the help of the Richardson family, Northwestern Mutual unveiled its float design that Peyton inspired for the 2016 Rose Parade during a special event at Texas Children’s Cancer Center on December 3, which also included a $25,000 check presentation from Northwestern Mutual to the Cancer Center.

“The name of the float is Dancing into Adventure,” Peyton said. “The swans have gold cancer ribbons around their necks because gold is childhood cancer awareness. On the music box with the ballerina, there’s the Australian ballet, the New York City ballet and the Royal Ballet. Those are the landmarks where I want to visit.”

The float will also be decorated with red roses that will be placed in green vials and affixed to the float. The vials contain signatures from Texas Children’s patients and their families. Everyone who signed the vials can “ride” on the float with Peyton.

“It’s really this link together through Peyton and Northwestern Mutual to bring awareness to childhood cancer and the need for research funds, and really to show that children with cancer can live and survive and have wonderful and meaningful lives,” Dreyer said. “There is a huge message in that float.”

Besides helping to design the float, Peyton will wear a beautiful Tiffany blue costume at the Rose Parade assembled by the Houston Ballet’s lead costume designer.

With just days away until her greatest adventure comes alive on national television, Peyton’s excitement is building.

“Once we are on the plane and we land, I think I am going to be like, “Wow, this is really happening. I’m going to be in the Rose Parade,” Peyton said. “I can’t wait.”

Neither can her mom.

“For us to be there, it’s like the end of a very long and hard year for her and our family,” Carrie said. “We’re very excited.”

Watch Peyton and her family ride on the Northwestern Mutual float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. The parade will be broadcast on NBC at 10 a.m.

December 8, 2015

The sound of strumming ukuleles in unison can be heard every Thursday at noon outside of the Kids’ Zone Radio studios. That’s when a group of Texas Children’s employees come together to learn to play the ukulele. The group consists of men and women from various departments who have kindled a friendship over their new musical talents.

“When we started, it was really for the child life department for team building and self care, but people enjoyed coming and it grew,” said Music Therapist Amy Smith. “People who were in the group started inviting other people in the hospital who might want a break in their day, who might want to do some self care while here at work, to learn a new skill and meet new people.”

The group has now grown to 20 employees and continues to see more interest as word gets out about this sort of music therapy for employees. There is a lot of research to support the positive effects group music making can have on individuals. For Nurse Coordinator Amelia Sherinski, it’s a place to get away from the emotional task of working in hematology/oncology patients.

“There is a lot of emotional stress associated with my job,” Sherinski said. “It’s nice to take that mental break, come do something I’m really bad at, but have a good time doing it.”

The members of this team are by no means professional ukulele players. Most had never picked up the instrument before joining this group, but in preparation for Garth Brooks’ visit to dedicate the new Child Life Zone, the group prepared their own rendition of “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”

“Our tag line now is that the ukulele choir at Texas Children’s got to open for Garth Brooks,” Smith said. “That was a neat opportunity where they asked us to write a song and we decided to remake this famous song to instead say ‘deep in the heart of Texas Children’s’.”

But the choir isn’t just practicing for the next big celebrity to join, last year they did caroling on patient floors and they are even available to attend your next Texas Children’s event.

“It was so neat to give back to the children here at Texas Children’s in a different way than most of us are used to,” said child life specialist Laura Linville.

To join the Texas Children’s Ukulele Choir or request their talents for your next Texas Children’s event, contact Amy Smith.

December 2, 2015

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays at Texas Children’s Hospital. The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony kicked off the season of joy with Santa and Mrs. Clause helping to light The Auxiliary Bridge Christmas tree.

St. John’s choir sang holiday carols as young patients danced along. Executive Vice President and John Nickens helped kick off the lighting ceremony. Within seconds, the lights magically turned on and the “HO HO HO” of Santa could be heard as he walked down the hospital hallways.

There’s plenty of cheer left for patients, families and employees. Be sure to check out one of these holiday gatherings on your clinic floors and get in the holiday spirit.

  • Friday, December 4 – Four Seasons Santa’s workshop
  • Monday, December 7, 8 – Junior League volunteers bring Santa to various Clinical Care Center floors
  • Tuesday, December 15 – FBI members carol the halls
  • Thursday, December 17 – WATCH Santa Day
  • Monday, December 21 – Retired NBA players visit floors
  • Thursday, December 24 – Bennett’s Bears – Brande Nester visit clinic floors
December 1, 2015

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Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans had an exciting week wrapping up all of their Play 60 activities. Play 60 is an NFL initiative that encourages children to get off the sidelines and on their feet for at least 60 minutes of active play a day.

As part of the initiative, Texas Children’s, in partnership with the Texans, sponsored the Play 60 Challenge, a six-week program at Houston-area middle schools aimed at getting students excited about developing a healthy lifestyle.

Westchester Academy for International Studies in Spring Branch School District was one of those schools and was visited on November 24 by TORO, two cheerleaders and players Jonathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson. Texas Children’s dietician, Lin Lin Shao, also spoke about the importance and value of eating right to fuel your mind and body. As part of the celebration, the students played a Family Feud-style game about exercise and nutrition. Click here to view the Texans TV coverage of this event.

Also part of the PLAY 60 umbrella is the Play 60 Grant, which is $40,000 in grants given to help local schools get the equipment they need to help improve youth activity across the Houston area. The recipients of the grants were presented checks at the Texans Homecoming game vs. the New Orleans Saints on November 29 at NRG Stadium.

Four days before the big game, two Houston Texans Ambassadors, J.J. Moses and Eric Brown visited with about 20 patients at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. In addition to being encouraged to watch the Homecoming game, some of the patients got to try on Eric Brown’s Super Bowl ring while others were given the opportunity to sign our Houston Texans homecoming mum. Click here to view the Texans TV coverage of this event.

On game day, the Texans defeated the New Orleans Saints 24-6 in front of 71,778 fans at NRG Stadium. Texas Children’s was the presenting sponsor of the game, allowing President and CEO Mark A. Wallace and Executive Vice President John Nickens to kick off the event and serve as coin toss captains. The organization had more than 75 attendees at the game, including Catalyst award winners, who got to watch the event from a suite, and One Amazing Team event ticket winners.

Texas Children’s teamed up with the Houston Texans a year ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives by engaging them through camps, programs and events while giving them the tools necessary to make healthy choices throughout their lives. Click here to learn more about Texas Children’s partnership with The Texans.

November 17, 2015

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Each year, Texas Children’s Heart Center honors its founder, Dr. Dan McNamara, with a grand rounds dedicated to pediatric cardiology. This year’s speaker was Dr. Chris Feudtner from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Department of Medical Ethics and the Pediatric Advanced Care Team. Feudtner spoke to a standing-room only audience of physicians at McNamara Grand Rounds in the Texas Children’s Hospital Auditorium. The subject of his talk, compassionate confrontations: integrating hopes, emotions and duties when confronting serious illness, was a message of giving care to families coping with difficult decisions and grim prognoses.

“Even though I am one of you and I like living and working at the hospital, no parents likes hospitals and we have to remember that,” Feudtner said. “When communicating with parents, we need to remember we’re all feeling beings who have thoughts.”

Feudtner gave several examples of relaying difficult news to patient families. He encouraged providers to ask parents their hopes for their child. Acknowledging that hope as well as the hopes that can be achieved.

“Don’t argue with someone’s hope. Respect and honor patient family’s hopes and allow them to share other hopes that can then help you with the course of action you take with their child’s care,” Feudtner said.

Feudtner suggested to thank parents for sharing their first hopes, which will almost always be false hope characterized by Feudtner as “duty-based hope” that allows parents to remain wishful that the prognosis will improve against all odds. His suggestion, acknowledge the importance of this hope and how as a caregiver, you too wish this were possible, but ask for other hopes which opens the door for dialogue.

“The parents then may say they hope their child is not in a lot of pain,” Feudtner said. “When the second and third hopes are shared, it’s easier for you to say ‘I can help with that.’”

Feudtner ended the conversation by encouraging the health care providers to be in partnering relationships with patients to move forward in care.