Archive for 2012

The rain has started, it is dark at 5 p.m., and the leaves are falling. A young pediatrician’s thoughts turn, naturally, to … preventing injuries around the holidays. I think every pediatrician can tell you horror stories about bad things that happened to great families during the chaos of the holiday season. It is my job to help make sure that your family is as safe as possible. The Tom Sargent Children’s Safety Center at … Read More

Kylie Bell Age 16 Diagnosis: Brain tumor Shoe: Free Run +2 Standing rooted in place at her photo shoot, Kylie was unsure of what to do.  And then she began to dance.  Suddenly, the quiet girl transformed into a whirling dervish of joy – hair flying, eyes shining, face radiant. A brain tumor kept this young dancer off the floor for awhile, but not for long. Her passion for performance found her back in action … Read More

One of the true challenges of neurosurgical care is that small details can have a big effect. In short, the central nervous system is one of the organ systems in the body least tolerant to irritation, injury, infection and other ill effects. While I was training in general and then pediatric neurosurgery, I was troubled that despite careful attention, very delicate and important drains in the fluid spaces of the brain sometimes fell out. This often … Read More

Chad Berg Age 15 Diagnosis: Hypothermia and cardiac arrest Shoe: Air Force 1 Last January, Chad Berg took a spill in his kayak and spent 90 minutes in the icy water. By the time he was rescued, he was in full cardiac arrest with no pulse and an internal temperature of 73 degrees. Essentially, he was lifeless. But Chad’s doctors weren’t about to let that happen. After nearly three hours of CPR in Albany, the … Read More

What is a nurse? Nurses are professionals in the health care field who combine the fine art of caring with scientific skills and knowledge. Allison Franco, R.N., B.S.N., coordinator of the OHSU Doernbecher Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation program, embodies this and much more. Allison is a very skilled and knowledgeable in her role as transplant coordinator. She collaborates with multiple departments and people on a daily basis, including families, patients and outside providers. Her communication skills … Read More

Grant Olsen Age: 11 Diagnosis: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia Shoe: Free Run +2 When Grant Olsen was six years old, his mom and dad found a lump in his neck that turned out to be leukemia. “I was shell-shecked when I found out,” said his mom, Karen. “But that first day, Grant’s doctor spent four hours with us explaning things even though he was so busy. That’s the kind of care we got all the way … Read More

I see women in the role of caregiver on a daily basis. As a pediatric cardiologist I have spent more than a decade talking with parents, usually mothers, about the condition of their child’s heart. As the childhood obesity epidemic has gained more widespread attention, mothers are increasingly bringing their children to see me at the Doernbecher Dyslipidemia Clinic. We discuss: Altering the family shopping list and meal preparation to provide their children a heart-healthy … Read More

Oswaldo Jimenez Age: 11 Diagnosis: Severe pulmonary hypertension Shoe: Air Jordan 9 Retro Fierce. Strong. Fearless. Just like a … chicken. Yep, Oswaldo Jimenez has a power animal, and it just happens to be a scrappy pollito, or “little chicken.” He earned the moniker because of his puckish eating habits as a toddler and the name stuck. Last December, after a series of fainting spells, Oswaldo was given a life-changing diagnosis: severe pulmonary hypertension. The … Read More

Autumn Boynton Age: 10 Diagnosis: Bilateral Wilms’ tumors in kidneys & abdomen Shoe: Air Max 90 Watching Autumn and her dad together is like watching two best friends sharing an inside joke – but behind all that frivolity and fun is a story of sacrifice and love. Billy and Autumn were living in Bend when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer in the spring of 2005. When the weekly trips for treatment became too grueling, … Read More

Sometimes things happen a certain way for a reason. When the Chief of Neuroradiology at OHSU called me one evening a year and a half ago, he sounded worried. He was looking at the scan of a young child with a brain mass and pressure. The child and his parents were headed home, but Dr. Jim Anderson took the extra step to consult immediately with me about how urgent his condition might be. Jim was … Read More