Nate's Mission to Remission

After months of abdominal pain grew to unbearable levels, Nate was admitted to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Thursday, Jan. 31, his sixth birthday. What was initially a gastrointestinal follow-up appointment turned into three weeks of biopsies, X-rays, scans, and surgeries when Nate was diagnosed with stage 3 Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Nate’s appointment with Maria Clavell, MD, included an X-ray and a CT scan of Nate’s abdomen that showed a large cancerous tumor encasing part of his large intestine. After he admitted for testing and possibly surgery, he was diagnosed with stage 3 Burkitt’s lymphoma.

“From the moment we came into the emergency room, we were supported by the reception staff, Child Life services, the emergency room staff, the radiology staff, the social workers, the surgical staff, the critical care team in the ICU, and the amazing oncology staff,” said Sandra, Nate’s mother, who found comfort in the support of his primary oncology doctors A. Kim Ritchey, MD, and Meghan McCormick, MD.

Over the three weeks to follow, Nate endured two surgeries, countless biopsies, X-rays, and scans, and a full round of chemotherapy.

“We felt like the staff and hospital were always a step ahead of us when it came to patient education and answering any questions we had,” said Sandra. “They all made Nate feel special and safe when being diagnosed with something as difficult as cancer.”

At school, Nate’s friends missed playing “Mission Under Control” – a game where they pretend to be secret agents – with their energetic friend at recess. During Nate’s first stay in the hospital, his friend’s mother made shirts for “Nate’s Mission” that his teachers and classmates wore in solidarity during field trips and video calls with Nate. Nate was already determined to fight as hard as he could, but the T-shirts inspired him to make his battle against cancer his new mission.

This month, Nate completed his fourth and final chemotherapy cycle… or as Sandra would say: “Nate has completed his mission to remission!”

Join Nate and other patient champions this year at the fourth annual Walk for Children’s!

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Celebrating the Generosity of the Children's Community

More than 200 friends and supporters of UPMC Children’s gathered at Rodef Shalom on Wednesday, May 8, for the 11th annual Corporate & Community Recognition Dinner.

This annual celebration hosted by Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation recognizes the many corporate and community partners who make supporting the kids at UPMC Children’s a priority through generous fundraising throughout the year. Abby Krizner from 105.9 The X served as master of ceremonies.

The Albert Lexie Award recognizes those who have gone above and beyond in their commitment to supporting Children’s. Tiffany Casarcia and Debbie DePew, co-chairs of the annual unWINEd event, received this year’s Albert Lexie award in recognition of their tireless fundraising efforts. Ms. Casarcia and Ms. DePew started hosting unWINEd: A Toast to Hope for a Cure with the goal of raising $1 million in 10 years, though it only took them seven years to surpass their goal during last year’s event.

Conrad Kubaney, who swam for 11 hours across Lake Erie to benefit Children’s, was awarded Rookie of the Year. The Leaps and Bounds Award, recognizing those who have showed significant improvement in their support of Children’s over the previous year, was awarded to the brothers and alumni of Phi Theta Phi.

The SSA Striders, a group of dedicated students from Shadyside Academy who raised nearly $30,000 for last year’s Walk for Children’s, was recognized with a Youth Fundraiser Award.

Maddox Hyde, a young Extra Life gamer who raised more than $15,000 for Children’s, was also honored with a Youth Fundraiser Award. When Maddox was sent home from the hospital on hospice care last year, he had one last wish that the gaming community helped him make come true: to raise funds for Children’s and to be remembered as an inspiration to others and as a champion for other kids like him.

 

Funding the Future
Children's Trust convening its annual Grantmakers' Meeting on May 23

The Children’s Trust is a group of philanthropically minded emerging leaders dedicated to furthering the mission of UPMC Children’s through peer outreach, volunteering, and fundraising. The group will reconvene for the fourth annual Grantmakers’ Meeting on Thursday, May 23, at the Rivers Club.

This annual event provides an upcoming generation of promising young researchers and clinicians at UPMC Children’s with the opportunity to present their work to the community’s emerging leaders in the hopes of receiving funding through a Children's Trust grant.

Last year at the third annual Grantmakers’ Meeting, Trust members voted to grant $50,000 to Christopher Horvat, MD, MHA, for his research developing a precision approach for opioid administration in critically ill children and $40,000 to Kelly Bailey, MD, PhD, for her research investigating Ewing sarcoma tumor heterogeneity and the immune anti-tumor response.

“With the support of the Children’s Trust, we were able to complete the largest study of fentanyl pharmacokinetics ever performed in a heterogenous population of critically ill children,” said Dr. Horvat. “The insights from this study help us to better understand how the sedation requirements of children are unique and how we might better use medications like fentanyl to treat pain in the setting of critical illness.”

“In the year since I received the Children’s Trust grant, I have gained national recognition for my work in Ewing sarcoma with new publications and great success in studying patient samples,” reported Dr. Bailey.

Dr. Horvat and Dr. Bailey were presented with their funding by event co-chairs Andrew White and Sarah Hanna White and special guest presenter Jimmy Spagnolo, who completed his chemotherapy treatments at Children's in February 2017 when he was 6 years old.

This year’s Children’s Trust grant finalists are Traci Kazmerski, MD, MS; Dwi Kemaladewi, PhD; Deirdre Nolfi-Donegan, MD; and Franziska Rosser, MD, MPH.

Learn More about the Children's Trust

 

An Innovative Approach to Behavioral Health, Thanks to YourMomCares

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation received a $500,000 gift from YourMomCares to adapt and implement a mental wellness app for children and adolescents served by UPMC Children’s and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.

The app integrates digital behavioral health therapy with trained mental wellness coaches to provide personalized support for adolescents and young adults with behavioral health needs identified by their pediatrician.

“Teens and young adults use their mobile phones every day, so our goal is to capture their behavioral health needs by integrating our research into a technological solution that will appeal to this age group, which can lead to individualized clinical therapies in a timely fashion,” said Eva Szigethy, MD, PhD, child and adolescent psychiatrist, UPMC Children’s. “We hope that with this app, we can help target problems most affecting the individual’s life and ultimately help children and teens get the support and answers they need.”

The gift will help to pilot this new approach with 500 patients starting at ages 16 to 26 and is projected to be available by the 2019 school year with results made available in 2020.

YourMomCares works to expand the field of mental health and change the dialogue from mental illness to mental wellness. Founded and supported by celebrity and influencer moms banding together with all moms across America, YourMomCares creates and funds innovative programs and solutions which have a direct impact on children and adolescents.

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Celebrating Prom	Get Ready to Walk!	Save the Date: unWINEd
On Friday, May 10, UPMC Children’s celebrated its annual prom with carnival games, music, face-painting, and more! Special guests Ryan Switzer and B.J. Finney from the Pittsburgh Steelers also dressed in their best to join UPMC Children’s patients and families for an evening of dancing and fun.	Less than two weeks remain until the fourth annual Walk for Children’s on Saturday, June 1, at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park! The fun begins at 8 a.m., kicking off an inspiring and energizing morning with thousands from the Children’s community. There’s still plenty of time to register, join a team, fundraise, or donate to support the patients and families at Children’s.	Join the Cancer and Blood Disorders Auxiliary of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation on Tuesday, Aug. 6, for the eighth annual unWINEd: A Toast to Hope for a Cure, held at the beautiful Narcisi Winery in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. This 21+ event will include wine tastings, auction items, entertainment, and much more!
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