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Texas Scottish
Rite Hospital for Children also treats children with
learning disabilities through the Luke Waites Child
Development Center, a RiteCare Program. Ryan, age 12,
completes a phonological awareness and spelling activity
as part of his daily lessons in
the dyslexia classroom.
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In November 2003 when 17-year-old Lauren
Coplin first came to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
in Dallas, she had never seen an X-ray
of her spine. Lauren played volleyball, basketball, softball
and ran track, all with double major scoliosis—a condition
in which the spine has two major structural curves. “Often,
I would sleep with a heating pad on my back and take Tylenol
throughout the day to help with the pain,” Lauren remembers. “I
did not want to have to quit playing volleyball and running
track.” As
Lauren got older, the curvature in her spine progressed to
the point that her teachers and friends at school could see
a difference
in her posture. “I was self-conscious about my clothes,” Lauren
said. “I would not wear tight-fitting T-shirts and would
always wear my hair down, so people couldn’t see that
one of my shoulders was higher than the other.”
When Lauren was referred to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for
Children, it was obvious that she would need to have spine
surgery. “Dr.
Johnston and the nurses were great about explaining everything,” Lauren
said. “I could tell that they really wanted me to understand
the surgery and my role in the recovery process.” Three
weeks after Lauren’s surgery, she was walking and jogging.
She began volleyball practice just five months after her surgery.
Her team advanced to the regional quarter finals, and Lauren
was named most-valuable defensive player in her district.
Several months after surgery, Lauren returned to
the Hospital for a post-operative check-up. “I saw nurses in the cafeteria,
and they still remembered me,” she said. “When
they called me by my first name, I felt like I was the only
patient
in the Hospital. That is a good feeling!”
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Dr. Dan Sucato,
director of the Center for Excellence in Spine Research,
examines the X-ray of a
scoliosis patient.
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Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC)
is one of the leading institutions in the world for treating
children,
like
Lauren, with spine deformities, caring for more than 2,000
scoliosis patients each year. In the 1920s, TSRHC became
a pioneer in spine
surgery and research under the leadership of W.B. Carrell,
M.D., the first orthopedic surgeon in Dallas, and TSRHC’s first
chief of staff. Today, Dr. John A. (Tony) Herring, the Hospital’s
third chief of staff, continues an aggressive pursuit of
new procedures to treat spinal disorders.
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Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dan Sucato visits with TSRHC patient
Katrina. |
Thanks to generous donations from Scottish Rite Masons Charles
E. Seay, 33°, and Pat Beard, Grand Cross, and other special
friends, TSRHC is able to embark on an exciting new project that
will maintain and expand the Hospital’s position as a world
leader in spine research. (See inside front cover.) TSRHC’s
Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay and Martha and Pat Beard Center
for Excellence in Spine Research will advance the study of the
spine and support innovations and new treatment methods for spine
patients.
The Center for Excellence provides a forum for a diverse
group of experts to collaborate on specific challenges
in spine surgery.
The Center will facilitate discussions between orthopedic
surgeons, researchers, biomedical engineers, movement
science specialists,
orth-otists, radiologists and fellows. “One of our goals
is to bring talented researchers with diverse backgrounds and
skills to work together,” said Dr. Dan Sucato, director
of the Center. “This is a group that will set the bar high
to solve the big problems and answer the unanswerable ques-tions
that we have today about spine deformity.” The Center for
Excellence will focus on determining the cause of scoliosis,
diagnosing patients at an early age, and finding ways to prevent
the spinal curve from progressing. In addition to discovering
innovations in preventative and alternative treatments for scoliosis,
the Center for Excellence will focus on improving scoliosis surgery.
It will also support developments in non-fusion technology and
minimally invasive methods to treat scoliosis, which will allow
patients to maintain mobility in their spines after surgery and
significantly improve their quality of life.
In May, Lauren Coplin will walk across the graduation
stage with confidence. She plans to attend Texas Tech University
in the fall of 2004, certain that, because of the care she received
at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, she can accomplish
anything she sets her mind to.
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This beautiful
new corner sign marks the edge of the Texas Scottish
Rite Hospital for Children grounds.
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Pat Beard,
GC, and his late wife, Martha, have been supporters
of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children since
the 1960s. Ill. Beard was responsible for the establishment
of the Hospital’s
research department.
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Ill. Charles
E. and Sarah M. Seay made the original grant to establish
the Luke Waites Child Development Center in the 1960s
at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.
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The Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay and Martha and
Pat Beard Center for Excellence in Spine Research will allow
TSRHC to profoundly influence spine research and the treatment
of patients with scoliosis, like Lauren, both now and in the
future. If you would like to help support this world-class center,
please visit our web site at www.tsrhc.org to make a donation
online, or contact the development department at (214) 559-7650
or (800) 421-1121, extension 7650. Alison McCleskey, Publications
Manager, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2222 Welborn
Street, Dallas, TX 75219-3993
