Vanderbilt Health 2018 Donor Impact Report

2018 Donor Impact Report

Defining personalized health care thanks to supporters like you.

CONTENTS 1

Grateful Breast Cancer Survivor Gives Back

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Back in the Game

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The Unsung Heroes

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Breakthroughs in Bloom

The moment you give makes a lasting impact.

Thank you for your support!

In their moments of greatest need, patients and families turn to Vanderbilt Health for hope and healing. Whether it’s for routine needs or serious health concerns, we care for those who need us as if they were part of our own family, working every day to provide comprehensive, quality health care to those in our region and well beyond.

Together we are making a difference for patients and families who need us.

We couldn’t do it without you.

Your dedicated support of Vanderbilt Health advances our mission to be a leader in innovative research, high-impact clinical training and personalized patient care. Throughout these pages, you will see the result of your impact and learn about defining moments for patients who have had their lives changed by the care they received from Vanderbilt Health—care that is made possible because of supporters like you.

Jeffrey R. Balser, M.D., Ph.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Vanderbilt University Medical Center Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

To learn more, visit VanderbiltHealth.org/impact.

Grateful Breast Cancer Survivor Gives Back Latonya Drumwright was expecting to pop in quickly for a routine mammogram on her lunch break—but when she found herself with a longer-than-usual wait after the exam, she had a feeling this visit might not be just a typical checkup. When she was told they found something that didn’t look quite right, she took the rest of the day off from work to tell her husband, whose mother had died from breast cancer, that she, too, might have the disease. A biopsy would confirm Latonya’s fear.

The moment the doctor walked into the room and told me I was breast cancer free was the best moment of my life.

— Latonya Drumwright, breast cancer survivor

After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy and five surgeries, Latonya is now a breast cancer survivor and activist. With cancer now in her past, thanks to the specialized care she received at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Latonya is an advocate for breast cancer screenings. She is a member of the Temple Church, where her husband, the Rev. Darrell Drumwright, is the pastor, and they host “Pink Sunday” each October to raise awareness for breast cancer. “I am blessed,” she says. “I am very blessed to be here thanks to my strong support system, which includes my family, friends, church family and the compassionate Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center medical team.” Thank you for making this life-changing care possible.

I’m so grateful to donors because without your support, we wouldn’t be able to assist patients with this compassionate care.

— Andrea Birch, M.D. Latonya’s radiologist

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Back in the Game The moment that I stepped back on the baseball field to play again, it just felt amazing because I was really excited to get back to doing what I love.

— Drew Estes, pediatric cancer survivor

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In March 2016, all that should have been on seventhgrader Drew Estes’ mind was middle school baseball tryouts and basketball practice. But when he developed a persistent fever, his parents took him to the doctor to see what was wrong. After a blood test revealed that his white blood cell count was zero, he was sent to the emergency room for more testing. A bone marrow biopsy ultimately confirmed that what was originally thought to be just a virus was actually much more serious: Drew was diagnosed with leukemia.

When we meet patients for the first time, and we tell them that they have a diagnosis of cancer, we know in that moment we are there to hopefully save that patient’s life.

— Scott C. Borinstein, M.D., Ph.D. Drew’s oncologist

His care team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt quickly got to work on a treatment plan, and Drew started chemotherapy right away.

One of the biggest hurdles for Drew was giving up the sports that he loved.

And although he lost the last nine weeks of his seventh-grade year, he finished from home and maintained all A’s. After four weeks of chemotherapy, Drew went into remission. He was able to return both to school and to the baseball team for his eighth-grade year. He is now doing great with his treatments, and he continues to handle every challenge that comes his way with strength.

“Knowing we have a state-of-the-art place like Children’s Hospital in our region is so comforting,” Drew’s mom, Jenny, says. “When this happened, we asked everyone we knew where the best place for treatment would be. We are sure that Children’s Hospital is right where we needed to be.”

Most people, if they have the capacity, really want to do something to help. Those donors are our unsung heroes.

— Richard S. Miller, M.D. Chief of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Carol Ann Gavin Directorship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care

The Unsung Heroes The Vanderbilt Health trauma staff cares for thousands of patients each year, but the team was never expecting they would face three mass shootings in just seven months. As the only Level 1 Trauma Center for a catchment area of more than 65,000 square miles, Vanderbilt Health has one of the busiest trauma centers in the country.

When tragedy strikes like it did in a nearby church, a Kentucky high school and a Waffle House restaurant, Richard S. Miller, M.D., chief of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, was able to mobilize nine trauma surgeons and an entire team to be down in the trauma bay and ready to go within 15 minutes. “When you have a team of people that works well together, collaborates and helps each other through difficult times, that’s priceless,” Miller says.

This lifesaving, comprehensive care would not be possible without passionate community supporters like you. Together we are giving hope and healing to patients who need us in our region and well beyond.

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Breakthroughs in Bloom

At such a young age, Lily didn’t understand what was happening.

To explain it in a way she could understand, a doctor at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt told Lily that cancer was like a weed growing in a garden, and they would use chemotherapy to kill the weeds, so flowers could bloom.

At 7 years old, Lily Hensiek’s biggest worries were homework and getting her ears pierced.

“My name is Lily,” she says. “So the garden analogy stuck.”

But when she started complaining of back pain, experiencing fevers and bruising easily, her family began to worry.

One night when Lily woke up screaming in pain, her mother Larisa Featherstone knew something was terribly wrong. “As parents, you know the cries of your children,” she says. “This was a cry that I had never heard before.”

Lily was rushed to the hospital, and after a few days and tests, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

“I remember thinking this couldn’t possibly be happening to my child,” Larisa says. “This precious 7-year-old girl who was just doing cartwheels in her grandmother’s yard could not have cancer.”

One day when Lily was in the hospital, she told her mom she wished no child would have to go through this again.

“I asked her how much money she wanted to raise to make that happen, and she replied $100,” Larisa says. “I told her I would write her a check right then and there, challenging her to a higher goal.”

When she responded with a goal of $1 million, the idea for the Lily’s Garden initiative began, and her family started focusing on raising funds for childhood cancer.

After two and a half years of chemotherapy, Lily finished treatment, all the while still fundraising for a cure.

“Over 90 percent of children with ALL are cured,” says Debra Friedman, M.D., director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children’s Hospital.

“Most patients who relapse do so within two years. After five years, patients are pretty much considered home free.”

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Lily is tough as nails and never loses sight of what’s important. On the day we found out she relapsed, we were driving home, and I asked her what she was thinking. She said she would do whatever she had to do to live her dreams.

— Larisa Featherstone, Lily’s mom

Unfortunately for Lily, that wasn’t the case. At 15 years old, she started experiencing fevers again, and her mom brought her back to Children’s Hospital.

A bone marrow sample ultimately confirmed her family’s greatest fear—Lily had relapsed.

support the first endowed fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at Children’s Hospital, known as the Lily’s Garden Fellowship. This fellowship will make a difference for decades to come in the fight against childhood cancer.”

Lily’s dreams include raising money for a cure and becoming a pediatric oncology nurse at Children’s Hospital, inspired by her medical team who have become like family.

The Lily’s Garden Fellowship was awarded to first-year fellow Brianna Nicole Smith, M.D., M.S., whose research focuses on novel therapies for leukemia and better treatment options.

Lily’s story goes further than her disease. With support from her community, Lily’s Garden raised well over the initial goal of $1 million to support pediatric cancer efforts at Children’s Hospital.

“I will be able to become a better researcher and physician because of the Lily’s Garden Fellowship,” Dr. Smith says. “The extra training opportunities that are possible because of this fellowship will make a long-lasting impact on the field.”

Once her initial goal was met, Lily and her family contemplated what their next one would be.

After talking with Dr. Friedman, they decided that supporting an endowed fellowship would make a lasting impact.

“At Children’s Hospital, an essential part of our mission is clinical training for our fellows—the next generation of leaders who will lead tomorrow’s discoveries,” Dr. Friedman says. “We are so grateful to Lily and her family for choosing to

Now at 17 years old, Lily is in remission again. She still comes back to Children’s Hospital weekly for clinic and therapies, but she is nearing the end of treatment.

“Fundraising has helped give our family a greater purpose. A lot of small gifts from different people added up to make those goals possible,” Larisa says. “So even though there have been some weeds spreading in our story, there has been a whole lot of goodness spreading too.”

The moment I found out we hit our fundraising goal of $1 million, I was overjoyed. It was hard to put into words, but I didn’t want to stop there. It was never about a million dollars, it was about a cure for cancer.

— Lily Hensiek, age 17, pediatric cancer survivor

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Thank you for making a difference for patients.

To learn more and watch a video showing the impact of your giving, visit

VanderbiltHealth.org/impact

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