From the category archives:

Orthopedics

Bruins forward scores one for Children’s patients

by Tripp Underwood on January 13, 2012

Bad weather kept Marc Savard from watching last night's game in his donated box, so teammate Brad Marchand came up to hang out with Children's patient Patrick and family.

Snow No! I was super excited to watch TV yesterday so I could check out press coverage of Bruins forward Marc Savard, who was scheduled to publicly announce an AMAZING donation he’s giving to the kids of Children’s Hospital Boston.

Unfortunately winter storms in Toronto grounded his flight to Boston and Savy’s big announcement was postponed. The weather may have stolen some of Savard’s thunder, but it can’t take away the great things he’s doing for kids. Marc recently purchased an entire luxury suite at TD Garden, the home of the Bruins, and is donating it to Children’s patients for every home game of this and next season.

Children’s Child Life Services will be awarding the tickets to various patients throughout the hospital, with a special focus on children suffering from the medical and psychological effects of head trauma. It’s a cause dear to Savard, who has had to temporarily stop playing with the Bruins after suffering two concussions last season during play.

“Marc Savard understands firsthand the challenges faced by children suffering from the effects of head trauma,” said Beth Donegan Driscoll, director of Child Life Services at Children’s Hospital Boston. “The partnership with him is an exceptional opportunity for Children’s Hospital Boston patients and their families to experience the thrill of a Bruins game at the generosity of this very special man.” Full story »

Leave a comment

Best foot forward

by Andrea Mooney on October 3, 2011

The Packards

The Packards gather around the boulder in their backyard to pose for the picture. Katie passes her bright pink crutches to her mother, and although she needs them to get many places in her life—from school to hip-hop dance class, she’s able to lean against this rock without them.

The photos go well, of course, because the Packard family—mom Cara, dad Brian, brothers Dan and Kevin and sister Laura—is so tightly knit. They’ve come together in ways small and large to help Katie navigate life with spina bifida, a complex birth defect that affects the development of a child’s spinal cord, spine and brain.

But once the photo shoot is over, the rest of the family scatters across the backyard while Katie is still leaning.

“Mom,” she calls, “can you hand me my crutches?”

There she is, a 12-year-old girl, balanced precariously on the edge of the rock, stuck between childhood and adolescence, independence and dependence—between the desire for a regular life and the reality that there are simply things her body can’t do. Full story »

Leave a comment

Our patients’ stories: A protective bubble of my own

by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on July 21, 2011

Sandy Ho

I’ve always known my parents would forever see me as their baby. And being their little girl, I knew that it would be hard for them to watch me leave for college to live in a dorm, all by myself. I appreciate their concerns and love, but it didn’t change the fact that after high school I was ready to be on my own. As a kid with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (O.I.), a brittle bones condition, I could not wait to get out from their protective bubble, which I had lived inside of for 18 years. Full story »

Leave a comment

Choosing the Challenge

by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on April 13, 2011

Caitlynne McGaff

By Joshua Feblowitz

It all began with a troublesome pain near Caitlynne McGaff’s right knee. At the time, it didn’t seem like there was anything to worry about: An occasional bruise or bump was typical for the energetic 7-year-old, who was involved in a wide range of athletic activities, including gymnastics, ice-skating, basketball and soccer. The pain in her leg, her parents thought, was no doubt the result of this active lifestyle, a minor injury that would go away on its own. Yet week after week, Caitlynne’s leg continued to bother her.

It was only by chance during a routine check-up that the issue came to the attention of the family’s doctor. What followed was a battery of medical tests to find the source of her persistent pain. Day after day, Caitlynne’s right leg was poked, prodded and scanned by an array of medical specialists. “I was definitely scared,” recalls Caitlynne. “I was going from test to hospital to nurse to doctor, being asked questions.” After a whirlwind of medical detective work, her doctors shared the unthinkable diagnosis: cancer.

Caitlynne had a bone tumor known as an osteosarcoma growing just above her knee, the most common location for this aggressive tumor. The eighth most common cancer in children, osteosarcoma is still a rarity, affecting only about 600 children per year in the United States. To have a chance at a cure, Caitlynne would need intensive treatment, including both chemotherapy and surgery.

There was hardly any time to process this news. Chemotherapy started right away, a jarring new reality that put a stop to her many activities. The treatment made her hair fall out and left her listless and constantly nauseous. Yet through it all Caitlynne stayed strong with the help of her family who did whatever they could to make the long hospital stay more bearable. “My dad started doing what he called a ‘brave bank,’” she says with a smile. “Every time someone said, ‘you’re so brave’ he had to give me a quarter. It was little things like that helped relieve my fear and stress.”

Weeks into Caitlynne’s chemotherapy regimen discussions began about the second phase of treatment. The chemotherapy could only do so much; the tumor, as well as the bone and tissue around it, would have to be removed to give Caitlynne the best shot at a cure. Children’s Hospital Boston orthopedic surgeon Mark Gebhardt, MD, explained the options to the family: Caitlynne could have an allograft (a donated bone), an implant made of metal and plastic, or a type of partial amputation known as a rotationplasty.