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Show Match of Dimes Helps Youngster With 'Assist' from Coincidence v During reassuring check-up visit to March of Dimes-financed Birth Defects Clinical Study Center at Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, Kathy Anderson, 18 months, gets loving embrace from parents, Jim and Barbara Anderson of Grundy, Va. Kathy Anderson is too young at 18 months to understand un-derstand coincidence. This is the story of how it tipped the balance in a life-and-dealh battle for her hopefully, hope-fully, in favor of life. The first child of Mr. and Mrs. James Anderson of Grundy, Va., Kathy was born in December, Decem-ber, 1960 with spina bifida a .severe birth defect in which the spinal column fails to close completely. Its cause is unknown un-known and there are too few specialists in its treatment. Mrs. Anderson had been sent home, uncertain of her baby's future, while Kathy remained in the hospital. The doctors were undecided on the next move. Helpful Neighbor Phones Ten days passed. Then the Andersons' telephone rang. It was a neighbor who had just read a magazine story about Linda Breese of Columbus, Ohio, the 1961 March of Dimes Poster Girl. The article, in the monthly publication of the Loyal Order of Moose, told how Linda, also, a spina bifida victim, had undergone un-dergone an operation at Children's Chil-dren's Hospital in Columbus, and was now making steady progress under a program of treatment and rehabilitation at the March of Dimes-financed Clinical Study Center there. ' Mrs. Anderson, whose father-in-law is a Moose member, read the. article for herself and promptly called her family physician, Dr. Thomas McDonald. McDon-ald. They agreed on an immediate imme-diate call to the Breese family, 200 miles away. Mrs. Breese confirmed the siory. She also praised the skills of Di. Martin P. Sayers who had performed the operation opera-tion on Linda and of Dr. Wil-. Wil-. liam O. Robertson, director of the March of Dimes-supported Center. With Dr. McDonald making the arrangements, Kathy was soon taken to Columbus for-surgery for-surgery by Dr. Sayers. The operation was successful, but Kathy then began to develop hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, which frequently accompanies ac-companies the open spine condition. con-dition. Dr. Sayers inserted a plastic tube which drains the excess fluid from Kathy's head into her body to be absorbed. Kathy went back home to Grundy in February of 1961 after spending a month at Children's Hospital, but she's been a regular visitor since. Faithfully each month from March through October, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson drove 650 miles, round trip, between Grundy and Columbus, leaving home at midnight to reach Children's Hospital at 8 a.m. and returning the same afternoon. after-noon. Kathy Checked Closely This enabled Dr. Robertson and all the other members of the . Clinical Study Center's medical team to keep a close check on Kathy in the important impor-tant early months and to act promptly on any changes in her condition. Now that the critical stage is past, the Andersons must make that long auto trip only once every three months. But it doesn't seem so long to them now because it leads to hope for Kathy's future. Despite her continued improvement, im-provement, Kathy's problems are far from over. Says Dr. Robertson: "Kathy is a cheerful little girl who seems to be respond ing well to much of the treatment treat-ment we are prescribing for her. However, like most children chil-dren with severe birth defects of the central nervous system, she has complications which we can't fully correct because we don't know enough about them yet." Centers Fight Crippling The expert medical team at, the March of Dimes-supported center in Columbus and those in more than 50 other centers are working to improve diagnosis, diag-nosis, treatment and rehabilitation rehabili-tation techniques to help make possible nearly normal lives for the victims of crippling birth defects, arthritis and polio. Jim and Barbara Anderson can only hope that the work of Dr. Robertson and his associates asso-ciates will bring a promising future to Kathy. But they can personally endorse his diagnosis diag-nosis of their daughter's disposition. dis-position. "She's a lively, happy baby who loves to have people around her," says Mrs. Anderson. Ander-son. "We try to keep her from getting spoiled but it s not easy. What can you do with foui grandparents who have onlj one grandchild to fuss over?' |