Friday, May 15, 2009

...And Then There's the Joy

For those of you who watched Grey's Anatomy last night, there were some sad moments and some gut-wrenching unbelievably awful ones...and then there was one unbelievably beautiful one...the joy of a child who was given another chance at life. One doctor gathered several of her colleagues to witness it. Together they stood outside her room, quietly smiling and taking in the moment. There wasn't much more that needed to be said - the message was clear. Saving one childs life trumped everything.

Given the project I've been working on, it has meant that over the years most of the news stories I've captured have been the sad stories of the children involved in ambulance crashes. This blog gives me the opportunity to share all kinds of pediatric patient stories. Today, I am grateful to be able to share something incredibly uplifting...

(by Roni Caryn Rabin: NYT 5/13/09 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/health/14scorpion.html?_r=1&ref=us )

10 year-old Michael Moerdler-Green was stung by a scorpion during a recent family trip to Phoenix. At the emergency room, doctors offered his parents a choice of treatments: heavy sedation to help calm his symptoms or an experimental scorpion venom made in Mexico, but not yet approved for use in the US by the FDA. His father, Dr Moerdler-Green, chose the antivenom. His son was able to leave the hospital ONE HOUR AFTER RECEIVING THE MEDICATION.

No other antivenom specifically for scorpion stings is available in the US. A study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine documents a small clinical trial of young children stung by bark scorpions - most given the drug recovered from most of their symptoms within 2 hours. Dr Leslie Boyer, director of a venom research institute at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson said wider use of the antivenom could make treatment much easier in rural areas and small towns in the state that do not have PICU's and usually have to helicopter children to hospitals for care.

I would like to thank everyone for sharing this with me today. I am grateful to have your company when the news I have is sad or scary and my hope is to raise awareness about some child safety issue. I am thrilled that the only message I have to pass on today is one of hope...and life. Welcome to the joy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My name is Michael Moerdler-Green and my mother came across your blog. I am really touched by your blog about me. I am so happy that my story could make you so happy.

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I am Michael's mom and it really was a terrible experience, but one that was set right by the incredible efforts of Dr. Leslie Boyer and her colleagues who made this drug available to my son when he so desperately needed it. Michael now believes that this terrible thing happened to him for a reason -- so that he can help spread the word of Dr. Boyer's incredible work and the importance of getting this medication approved by the FDA.

Thank you for putting this information out there to your readers and I hope you will have many more uplifting pediatric news stories to write about in the future.

Very sincerely,
Sharon Moerdler-Green

Stefanie Zucker said...

Thank you. Your son's story made my day, and your comments made my weekend...and if perhaps this information reaches one parent in a time of need...then it will have made everything I work towards worthwhile.

Thank you again for sharing.

With sincere regards,
Stefanie Zucker

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