Dr. Michael LaQuaglia ’68 with Maggie Kelly. In October 2007, Maggie underwent an 8-hour surgical procedure after she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma earlier in the year.
and concern for others, and we also just got to know one another by swapping humorous epithets. This really helps in establishing trust.” Maggie had undergone fourteen rounds of high-dose chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, and this past fall, Dr. LaQuaglia and the Kelly’s discussed major surgery to remove the mass. This would be a major operation, and there was a chance that one of Maggie’s kidneys and her adrenal gland would have to be removed. “We made the decision to go ahead with the surgery,” Kelly said.“Dr. LaQuaglia took his time and walked us through what he was going to do, and it kind of blew us away.” Followed by a biopsy procedure, Dr. LaQuaglia performed extensive surgery on October 10th to extirpate Maggie’s tumor from its primary location in her abdomen. The procedure took eight hours to perform, but in the end, her kidney was spared and the entire tumor had been removed.
A paraflu that Maggie came down with before the operation had Kelly and his wife holding their breath, hoping that her challenged immune system would be able to fight off the risk of infection in her lungs. Maggie spent ten days on a respirator and, thankfully, made a full recovery from the operation.“She underwent an additional round of chemotherapy following the removal of the tumor, and began radiation treatment. Prolonged antibody treatment and high doses of Accutane, a retinoid prescribed as an anti-cancer chemotherapy aid, will help keep Maggie in remission. A fundraiser was held in Maggie’s honor in November, organized by Felix “Flip” Mullen ’97 and Karen Perine, Kelly’s brother- and sister-in-law, and another fundraiser took place a month later, hosted by Mike Minardi ’91 and a group of other Xavier classmates. In total, over $30,000 in donations went toward Neuroblastoma research at Sloan-Kettering and toward the Sloan-
A magnified image of neuroblastoma cancer cells.
Kettering Family Fund, which helps the needy families of children with cancer. “There was a great turnout from my Xavier friends. They’ve helped Maggie do so much to help raise awareness of this awful disease,” Kelly said. The Kelly’s and Dr. LaQuaglia continue to be amazed by Maggie’s strength and courage. “It’s an amazing thing to see what can be done when you throw statistics and mortality rates out the window and have faith in God, support from family and friends and trust in the doctors and nurses who are caring for her,” Kelly said.“Maggie has been such an inspiration to everyone who has met her.” Maggie continues to recover at her parent’s home in Rockaway Beach, NY.
To support neuroblastoma research and to follow Maggie’s progress, visit www.carepages.com, click “Visit” and enter “MaggieKelly.” FEBRUARY 2008
— ALUMNEWS
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