M E D I C I N E O F F T H E M I D WAY
Hannah Hartman (right), 7, and her sister, Lindsay Hartman, 9, of DeMotte, Indiana, are both patients of David Frim and enjoy Discover Camp. Photo by Dan Dry
Feeling Like a Kid: Neurosurgeon sponsors camp for children restricted by neurological conditions By Brooke O’Neill
P
ediatric neurosurgeon David Frim doesn’t flaunt his accomplishments. A specialist in congenital anomalies of the nervous system, Frim, MD, PhD, chief of neurosurgery and the Ralph Cannon Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, doesn’t boast about the hundreds of complex surgeries he’s performed on children with hydrocephalus, epilepsy and other neurological disorders. He’ll likely not mention the summer retreat he started that caters specifically to families living with chronic neurosurgical conditions. And he won’t gloat about his pioneering research on the cognitive effects of several rare genetic syndromes. “It’s just a tiny little thing,” Frim said, plucking a slightly yellowed document from his office bookshelf, his first public paper in Pediatric Neurosurgery from 1990, about a brain malformation he’s spent the past two decades investigating. What Frim will talk about is the resilience and courage of his young patients. There’s Daniel Hutcheson, 22, who suffers from a rare congenital disease called KlippelTrenaunay syndrome that keeps him confi ned to a wheelchair and grappling with debilitating headaches. Then there are Gabe and Lindsay Hartman, 9-year-old twins born with Chiari (kee-AR´-ee) malformation, a structural abnormality that causes the cerebellar tonsils to sneak through an opening at the base of the cranium into the spinal canal, disrupting the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Neither child can play soccer or dodgeball because a jolt to the
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University of Chicago Medical Center
head could dislodge the surgically inserted shunts that route fluid through their brains and spinal cords. “A lot of these patients don’t really have ‘normal’ lives,” Frim said. Many have spent their childhood in and out of the hospital, captive to pain that ebbs and flows but rarely disappears. Those with shunts, like the Hartman twins, must forgo a laundry list of forbidden amusements — bumper cars, trampolines, contact sports — that could damage their devices and worsen the underlying neurological defects. “The thing about pediatric neurosurgeons is that we’re one of the few groups of surgeons who have chronic patients,” Frim said. “Those with congenital anomalies, with shunting devices, come back year after year because we have to manage the problems. So we end up with patients we know quite well.” That familiarity with chronic patients — and the physical barriers they face — compelled Frim to step outside his surgeon role and create a summer camp tailored to his patients’ special needs.
Designing a Space of Their Own That’s how Discover Camp evolved. In 2007, Frim teamed up with mother Janet Hutcheson to launch a five-day retreat open to all University of Chicago Medical Center neurosurgery patients and their families. Part kids camp, part emotional support group, the event takes place at a different Midwest campground each year and offers a laid-back nature experience geared toward those with physical limita-