EAG has a deep appreciation for our city’s wide range of resources. We appreciate the business, arts, charitable and other organizations that exist to serve our community. But Henry recently reminded us just how thankful we are to have world-class medical facilities in our midst.
Henry is the four-year-old son of Audrey Gardner, one of our account executives. A few months ago, Henry was suffering from severe abdominal pain. Several trips to medical offices and doctors later, Audrey was told it was a gastro intestinal issue. However, nothing was making Henry feel better, meds simply weren’t effective, and he was getting worse. Audrey took Henry to the emergency room at North Kansas City Hospital one morning when Henry felt so badly that he couldn’t go to preschool. The ER staff recommended she take Henry to Children’s Mercy Hospital.
Children’s Mercy is the only free-standing children’s hospital between St. Louis and Denver, providing comprehensive care for patients from birth to 21. Children’s Mercy ranks among the leading children’s hospitals in the nation. It was the first hospital in Missouri or Kansas to earn the prestigious Magnet designation for excellence in patient care from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The hospital has more than 750 pediatric specialists in more than 40 pediatric specialties. It is not only a national, but also an international leader in advancing pediatric health, and it was a few miles away for Audrey and Henry that day.
“Within 18 hours, Henry was diagnosed, had surgery and was in recovery. We spent the first 12 hours in the emergency room where it became a matter of ruling things out to come to a diagnosis. Henry had a sonogram, then a CAT scan and finally an MRI. It was a young ER doctor who diagnosed Henry with osteomyelitis, an infection related to staph, so rare that Children’s Mercy had only treated two other cases of it in the hospital’s entire history,” explains Audrey.
Osteomyelitis is so rare that there are fewer than 1,000 cases a year. It is a bone infection caused by bacteria that typically affects the spine, legs or arms. In Henry’s case, his spine was the site of infection, and he was assigned a team of 10 specialists who were Skyping with other specialists in pediatric spine, neurology, infectious disease and physical therapy. Henry’s surgery was a success and he was released a few days later, albeit with home care to help administer antibiotics through a PICC line.
“Surgeons operated on Henry’s spine so he had to wear a protective brace for two weeks and use a walker. We put a super hero sticker on the front of his brace like it was his shield and he wore a cape. He loved it so much that he wanted to keep wearing it,” laughs Audrey. On April 4, Henry’s bloodwork came back mostly clear and he returned to preschool the next week. Another month and he’ll be completely off antibiotics and using his brace when he’s playing hard.
How many times have you driven by Children’s Mercy Hospital? Seen its billboards? Watched its commercials on TV? Unless you’ve taken a child there or visited a child there, chances are you don’t have first-hand knowledge of the miracles that happen there every day. Our small business miracles pale in comparison, and Henry’s happy ending reminds us how thankful we are for resources like Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.