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Show Caring Magazine term. The IHC Healthy Pregnancy program screens expectant mothers and helps them get the specialized care they need from perinatologists and other at-ri- caregivers. Darlene McDaniel went to the doctor's office for a routine ultrasound and was immediately admitted to the hospital because her amniotic fluid level was low. She was hospitalized for six weeks and on bed rest at home for another five. "Everyone was so supportive," said Darlene. "Katrina Jensen, MS, RN, the IHC perinatal care manager, was there for Js a transplant, the LVAD will remain LHC's Marian Walker is one of these patients. Like Michael, Marian had been free of cardiac disease until bacteria (related to an abscessed tooth) attacked her heart valves. Because she is a diabetic, Marian is not a good candidate for a heart transplant, because the drugs she had a relapse. Natalie and her family were told the only hope was for a bone marrow transplant because the cancer was spreading so rapidly. Fortunately, her oldest sister, Angela, was the perfect match. In 1997, Natalie had the transplant. Now, Natalie has recovered and is back to school. "It is a real miracle," said Cheri Burdick, Natalie's mother. "The doctors say she has done remarkably well, because more than 50 percent with this type of leukemia don't make it." With the help of William Carroll, M.D., a hematologistoncologist at Primary Children's, the Burdicks were able to try an experimental drug that was previously only available in Minnesota. It was Natalie's decision to try the drug. "Well, why not try everything you can," she said. "I want to live, so I should do everything it takes." Her family helped care for her, learned to draw blood, cleaned her bandages, and even shaved their heads to show solidarity when Natalie lost her hair. When her health was so precarious, Natalie received a white Arabian horse named Shami from the Make a Wish Foundation. Fortunately, Natalie recovered and is doing well. Now she takes riding lessons twice a week. transplant. "Ordinarily, there would have been nothing the doctors could do for me," Marian said. "The LVAD has literally given me life. Now I'm able to do almost everything I used to do. I recently took my grandchildren to Disneyland." SURVIVING CANCER medicine Sometimes leading-edg- e involves a device like the LVAD, and sometimes it involves new drugs. Cancer survivor Natalie Burdick, age 12, is grateful she was able to try an experimental drug which seems to have rid her body of the disease. Natalie was diagnosed with leukemia when she was five years old. She went through two years of chemotherapy at a healthy baby girl, Jeri Michala. "At first they thought I would deliver at 23 weeks, but we managed to hold on till 35 weeks, which is nearly Dariene said. ," then implanted indefinitely. with her diabetes medication. She was fitted with the LVAD on a permanent basis, not as a temporary bridge to a doctors helped me understand what was happening, and the nurses gave tests and helped me stay positive. They were real cheerleaders for my pregnancy." This team approach, involving some high tech procedures as well as a nurturing environment, helped Darlene deliver Primary Children's Medical Center. For 18 months she was fine, and that prevent rejection of the donor heart interact poorly me during the hard times. She would for me. My interpret the medical jargon FOCUSING ON PRENATAL CARE Perinatology is the medical specialty that treats unbom babies and helps their mothers carry them closer to full In 1997, IHC joined tha Huntsman Cancer Institute and tha University of Utah in forming the Huntsman Cancer Care Program, a joint dinical oncology program to advance the care of cancer patients. in the program, physidans firm IHC and the University of Utah are developing new standards of care and analyzing treatment outcomes. One advantage of the joint program is a pooling of expertise. information, and other resources in the fight against cancer. Children with cancer are among the major benefidaries of the program. In 1970, only about 15 percent of children with cancer survived. "Now, about 70 percent of aU children with cancer are cured," says William Carroll, M.D., director of the Center for Children at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. "At the institute, we're interested in that 30 percent of patients whose cancer returns." "IHC made a generous contribution of $10 million to improve the quality of cancer am and research for pediatric cancer," said Joseph V. Simone, M.D., senior clinical director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Or. Carroll added, "Primary Children's Medial Center was one of only 21 children's hospitals nationwide to be granted Phase I status, a mark of cancer care." state-of-the-- E w 3 |