Camilla was born with Trisomy 21 – Down Syndrome and had two holes in her heart. She underwent emergency life-saving surgery. Camilla’s mom, Jennifer, had fundraised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for several years as a Walmart associate. She had never seen where her fundraising efforts went, until she had to experience services at a children’s hospital first-hand when Camilla was born. Camilla continues to see several specialists at CHRISTUS Children’s.
When 12-year-old Violet started losing weight, experiencing mild panic attacks, and losing color in her skin, her parents sought help from her pediatrician. After running labs on multiple occasions, results showed significant for moderate anemia, which prompted a referral to pediatric hematology at CHRISTUS Children’s. After more tests, Violet was diagnosed with myeloid-lymphoid neoplasm with eosinophilia (MLN-eo), a hematologic neoplasm in which, due to an underlying gene arrangement, the bone marrow makes too many copies of a type of blood cell called eosinophils. Her diagnosis is extremely rare in pediatric patients, especially in females, making the diagnosis very difficult and unusual. Violet’s doctors also did a baseline check of her organs and found that her heart had suffered some damage from her diagnosis. Violet started immunotherapy and heart treatment and she slowly began getting better. Violet is doing great today and hopes to grow up to pursue a career in the medical field to help other patients like herself.
In December 2016, Maddie went in for a routine pediatric check-up where her pediatrician noted she was underweight. At four months old, Maddie weighed only nine pounds, when her expected weight should be 13-15 pounds. The family scheduled an appointment at CHRISTUS Children’s, were cardiologists diagnosed Maddie with a large ventricular septal defect (VSD), a small aortic valve, and a small hypoplastic aortic arch, all serious congenital heart defects. Maddie’s VSD and small hypoplastic aortic arch required immediate surgical repair. Physicians performed the life-saving surgery with no complications. Today, she is happy, healthy, and thriving – and busy, too! Maddie started kindergarten, plays T-ball, and takes dance classes.
Emmalee was born with a cleft lip and nasal deformity, a partial left palate, and a hemangioma on her right eyelid. Her cleft lip was causing Emmalee to have difficulty bottle feeding and she was struggling to gain healthy and necessary weight. If left untreated, the hemangioma, a noncancerous, dense group of blood vessels, above her right eye could potentially damage her eyeball or even cause blindness. Corrective surgery was her best option for a healthy, normal life. From November 2015 to 2018, Emmalee underwent corrective surgery for her lip, nose palate, and eyelid. Month by month, her doctors noticed a drastic change in her appearance and health. The surgeries were all a complete success. Once Emmalee’s lip healed, she was able to bottle-feed properly and slowly began to gain weight. The hemangioma that was once present on her tiny face had disappeared. Because of her partial palate, she will require a bone graft when she is older, but for now, Emmalee is enrolled in Pre-K for SA and enjoying spending her days making new friends and learning.
Maritza is Emmalee’s biological little sister, who was born exactly one year after Emmalee. Upon her birth, doctors noticed Maritza also had a cleft lip and nasal deformity, and a partial right palate that would all require corrective surgery. She underwent a cleft lip and nose reconstruction surgery at just nine weeks old. The family was overjoyed with another successful surgery. Maritza will also require a bone graft when she is older, but for now she is doing great and having fun in head start.
On September 11, 2019, Taylor experienced chest pains that resulted in a visit to her family doctor. She was diagnosed with Pleurisy, an inflammation of the tissue around her lung. She was referred to CHRISTUS Children’s for further testing. Doctors ordered an echocardiogram test to be performed on Taylor and discovered two heart defects that most likely originated from birth. Taylor has a right coronary artery that is positioned higher than a typical heart would be and her left ventricle valve leaks, meaning the valve does not close as it should, allowing blood to flow backward into the left atrium. If left untreated, Taylor would continue to experience heart rhythm problems and could potentially lead to heart failure. She is currently undergoing treatment at CHRISTUS Children’s under the supervision of Dr. Singh, section chief of cardiology.
In November 2016, Drew was a happy, healthy two-year-old who had never been ill. One day, he was rushed to the H-E-B Emergency Department at CHRISTUS Children’s with a very high fever. Physicians diagnosed Drew with pneumonia, and admitted him into the Pediatric Intermediate Care Unit (PICU). The pneumonia continued to get worse. Physicians determined Drew had necrotizing pneumonia with empyema, a very rare complication of a bacterial lung infection, with dying lung tissue, which made Drew’s condition much more serious. He underwent two surgeries. Drew recovered and spent two weeks with physical, occupational, and speech therapists, re-learning how to walk, talk, and eat.
Quincy’s two-year-old check-up was life-changing. During his visit, his pediatrician detected a heart murmur. He was referred to CHRISTUS Children’s, where specialists discovered he had a few different heart defects, some extra parts, some missing parts, and he was going to need open heart surgery. Quincy went into a seven-hour surgery one week later and had several repairs done on his heart. Surgeons also found he had two superior vena cava veins (most people have one). He also had four extra veins connecting to his lungs, and one piece missing from the back wall of his heart. This meant his blood was not circulating correctly, causing “bad blood” to enter his lungs. Quincy recovered in the PICU after surgery and went home just a few days later. His journey continues today, and doctors are keeping a close eye on his heartbeat and tightening of the superior vena cava at the entry of his right atrium. He will need future surgeries, but he continues through each day with his resilient, courageous spirit.
At just five years old, Jagger was diagnosed with an aggressive Wilm’s tumor, the most common kidney cancer in children. Scans also revealed two cancerous nodules in his right lung. Jagger underwent surgery at CHRISTUS Children’s to remove his kidney, followed by 28 weeks of chemotherapy, eight doses of whole lung radiation, and additional surgeries to remove the nodules.
Thanks to generous supporters like you, Jagger is cancer-free today. He loves swimming, gaming, acting, performing magic tricks, and is a big-time dancer.
When Nolan was born in February 2016, his parents, Courtney and Josh, were over the moon with their first baby. Fast forward three years later, and the Smith family would suddenly face cancer head-on.
Dr. Courtney Smith, Nolan’s mom, is a pediatrician with CHRISTUS Children’s Primary Care – Dominion Crossing, and because of her training, is very observant in any changes she sees with her children’s health. During playtime one day, Dr. Smith noticed something strange with Nolan’s left eye.
“I could see that there was something unusual in the center of his eye. I looked at it from every angle and I knew something was there that shouldn’t be,” said Dr. Smith.
Nolan’s primary care physician, Dr. Juan Ferreris, a pediatrician at CHRISTUS Children’s Primary Care – Dominion Crossing, quickly referred the family to a retina specialist. By the end of the week, Nolan was diagnosed with retinoblastoma. This form of cancer develops in the retina, which is the specialized light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color. Specialists concluded that Nolan’s vision must have been slowly diminishing over the last three years and it was likely that he was born with a microscopic tumor that was undetectable to the naked eye.
In order to remove the tumor in its entirety, Nolan’s left eye was completely removed in July 2019, just two weeks after seeing the specialist. Immediately following the surgery, an orbital implant was placed to keep Nolan’s eye muscles in shape while he healed.
“We went from a normal Saturday afternoon, to finding out our child was going to lose his eye, just like that,” added Dr. Smith. “I’ve cared for children going through cancer throughout my career, but it is entirely different being on the other side.”
Eight weeks after surgery, Nolan was fitted for a prosthetic eye – his “super hero eye,” as he likes to call it. Nolan’s doctors were fearful the cancer had spread microscopically and suggested chemotherapy. In August of that same year, Nolan began chemotherapy at CHRISTUS Children’s – the same place his mom once served as the Chief Resident and a place where she helps heal children every single day.
“It’s a tough place to be when you’re the parent of a child going through something like cancer,” said Dr. Smith. “I had to turn my doctor brain off completely and just be Nolan’s mom. I knew he was in the best hands possible at The Children’s Hospital.”
Nolan completed his chemotherapy right in time for his fourth birthday. He celebrated by ringing the bell, marking the completion of six long months of chemo.
Although Nolan is currently cancer-free, he enjoys going to his six-month check-ups at the “big hospital with the bright colors” and seeing his friends in the Child Life Zone.
“As a physician, there are things I never noticed going on around me that make CHRISTUS Children’s as special as it is,” added Dr. Smith. “I’m so grateful for the Child Life specialists who helped Nolan feel safe and normal, the residents who took the time out of their busy days to get to know my son, the support staff who drew pictures for him to ease his nerves, and everyone who made Nolan, my husband and I, not feel so alone in our journey.”
Today, Nolan is a super five-year-old who loves reading, hanging out with his little brother, Cooper, and recently started playing t-ball.
“Thanks to CHRISTUS Children’s, Nolan gets to continue growing up and enjoying being a kid,” said Josh. “He’s excited to finally join the big kids in kindergarten this fall.”
CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation exists to fund the health care, research and wellness programs that serve children and families in South Central Texas. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity. All gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. ©2023 CHRISTUS Children’s Foundation
