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| Press
Releases Packard
Children's News
Children's Fund
Update |
 Circles
of Caring
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| Anthony spent four months
at Packard after his transplant while he was being monitored for
rejection by Clifford Chin, M.D. (right), and others. During that
time, a variety of ancillary services helped him cope and accelerated
his |
WINTER 2000 - Unknown to Anthony Hollingsworth and his parents, the heart of this athletic, social 14-year-old was being ravaged by a virus during the early days of summer. Suffering from severe stomachaches, overwhelming fatigue, and sudden shortness of breath, Anthony was rushed to hospitals in his hometown of Sacramento -- first Kaiser, then Sutter Memorial -- before being flown to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital by helicopter. Anthony had severe heart damage from a rare cardiomyopathy, most likely caused by a virus. He needed a new heart and he needed one fast.
On Friday, July 28 Anthony was put on the heart transplant waiting list. He was connected to two ventricular assist devices in order to stay alive. Incredibly, on Friday, August 4 a heart was available. That evening, at 6:30 p.m., Anthony's own damaged heart was removed. By 9:00 p.m. the donor heart had been transplanted.When Bruce Reitz, M.D., chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery, emerged from the operating room at 11:15 p.m., he said it was a miracle that Anthony had made it through.
As soon as Anthony and his parents arrived at Packard Children's Hospital, Packard's impressive array of ancillary services was there for him and for his family each step of the way. They provided comfort, support, and safety -- a circle of caring -- during a frightening and emotionally trying time.
Sarah Scofield, MSW, is a Packard social worker. She was one of the first people Anthony's mother, Sonja Noble, step-dad, Gary Noble, and sister, Tanecia Hollingsworth, met when Anthony was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)."My job was to help them gain a sense of control in the crisis," says Scofield. "They were far from home and needed help dealing with household needs." She arranged for initial housing at Ronald McDonald House. "This family is a close-knit, strong family. They welcomed of all the services we have to offer."
When it became clear that Anthony was a candidate for a heart transplant, Scofield shifted the social services care to Mary Burge, LCSW, a heart transplant social worker. The transition was accomplished in a seamless manner so nobody felt abandoned. Burge helped the family move into a "very clean and private environment" at the Home Apartments operated by the Santa Clara County Assistance League. She also made sure needs such as groceries and transportation were being met.
One of Burge's most important tasks in helping transplant patients and their families is education. In photograph albums documenting patients at the time of transplantation, the weeks following, and the years after that, families can see the sequential steps back to a normal life. Seeing a child who is on a ventilator or who looks bloated from medications and then seeing that same child weeks and months later riding a bike, fishing, or picking out a pumpkin is emotional empowerment. Burge helps families envision a happy, active future. "Each patient takes his place in the album -- that's very symbolic and important," Burge says. "The albums give people lots of hope."
Burge also arranged for Anthony to visit the Gross Anatomy Laboratory at Stanford to see -- and to hold -- his own original heart. "Not everyone wants to see his heart, but some people want to grieve or show anger," Burge says. "Anthony, I think, is somebody who copes by learning."When asked what he was thinking when pathologist Dr. Gerald Berry handed him his own heart, Anthony responded, "I thought, ‘No way is that my heart. It looks like some piece of meat that got all chopped up!'" Because science is Anthony's favorite subject, he looks forward to impressing his biology teacher in Sacramento, Mr. Gatejen, with photos showing him holding his own heart.
To help piece together what had happened to him, Anthony was eager to meet with Dr. Reitz, who performed his surgery, and "Dr.Marc," as Anthony calls Marc Pelletier, M.D., chief resident of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Burge facilitated this meeting and made sure a large model of the heart was available for teaching purposes. After explaining the procedures and answering Anthony's questions, the three quickly turned their discussion to baseball -- a passion for Anthony, a Giants fan.
As Anthony's treatment progressed, Packard's Chaplaincy Services soon recognized that the most important source of support for Anthony and his family was their church in Sacramento, and accordingly, directed their efforts to working in cooperation with Anthony's home church and the other Peninsula churches that came to their aid. At many moments throughout Anthony's ordeal, Hospital chaplains Reverend Wilma Reichard and Bruce Feldstein, along with volunteer chaplain Stevie Stennis, came together with J.E. Copeland, pastor of the Progressive Church of God in Sacramento, and other local pastors to be there for the family. Reichard recalls gatherings of ten or more members of Anthony's extended family -- aunts, cousins, grandmother and grandfather -- praying together. After Anthony's surgery, Reichard brought breakfast to Anthony's family and prayed with them. "This is a family of great faith," says Feldstein.
Though not all families choose to seek comfort through the Chaplaincy Services, these services are available to patients, their families and to staff 24 hours a day. Spiritual support is offered with a warm hand and understanding heart. Indeed, Sonja Noble saw the entire community at Packard, from the medical staff to everyone in the ancillary services, as "prayerful." "When Dr. Reitz told us Anthony was going to be okay after the transplant, I truly felt this miracle was due to all the prayers for Anthony," says Sonja.
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| An opportunity to meet with his surgeons helped Anthony Hollingsworth better understand and deal with his sudden and unexpected heart transplant. He is pictured here with Bruce Reitz, M.D., chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery (right), and Chief Resident Marc Pelletier, M.D. (left), the surgeons who performed the procedure. |
For patients and their brothers and sisters, who are also far from home, school is a key part of ancillary services. Thayer Gershon, Anthony's teacher, explains, "We contact the home school and have the student transferred to Palo Alto Unified School District.We get the syllabus from the home school and coordinate an easy transition."Anthony, who recently celebrated his fifteenth birthday, is now in the tenth grade and studying history, algebra, English and biology. Computers and an excellent art program are two electives offered to all students.
Some young people are ready to focus on their studies very quickly and can progress rapidly with the one-on-one learning they are given. Others need more time. "They've been through life-altering experiences," Gershon says. "You no longer have the same frame of reference (after transplantation) as your peers back home." Gershon finds that often children become close to other patients while studying at Packard.
Ellen Vanderwilt, a recreation therapist who worked with Anthony, states, "Part of my job was to make this a more welcoming environment, to engage Anthony and his cousins in normal day-to-day activities." Often young visitors are confused and afraid in the unfamiliar surroundings of a hospital. They are unsure of what to do or how to be with the child who is sick. "I wanted them to look at the wellness, not Anthony's illness," says Vanderwilt.
The circles of compassionate care that Anthony and his family experienced while at Packard have helped to instill a sense of calm confidence and optimism in this young man who has endured so much. As Drs. Reitz and Pelletier said goodbye to Anthony, they reminded him that they hoped to see a picture of him playing third base sometime soon. Anthony smiled broadly and, not missing a beat, replied, "You'll see me in the pros!"
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