Thank You for the Privilege of a Lifetime
Mr. Redlegs greeted me in gallant fashion at a Reds ballgame where one of our patients threw out the first pitch in 2007.
Thank You for the Privilege of a Lifetime
Mr. Redlegs greeted me in gallant fashion at a Reds ballgame where one of our patients threw out the first pitch in 2007.
by Cindy Duesing
My years at Cincinnati Children’s have been a storyteller’s dream. There are heroes (thousands of them) and quests for knowledge, obstacles to overcome and lives at stake. But at the heart of it all is a love story, a tale of devotion and dedication to making life the best it can be for the most innocent and vulnerable among us—our children.
I will be retiring from Cincinnati Children’s on Jan. 2 after 21½ years of working in Marketing and Communications, focusing on internal, physician and crisis communications. When I think back on that time, I am filled with gratitude for everything I have learned and witnessed. I have seen courage in all its aspects—a mother keeping vigil alone for months at her terminally ill daughter’s bedside while her husband cares for the rest of the kids at home 200 miles away; a beloved community pediatrician in the waning stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) rallying the largest team ever to raise funds for the Walk to Defeat ALS; and a young man summoning his strength to walk into his first EQUAL meeting for employees who identify as LGBTQIA.
I’ve met brilliant researchers whose curiosity and persistence resulted in discoveries that have saved millions of lives and given hope to families desperate for a cure. I’ve listened to nurses who were patients here as children and want to help kids dealing with the same conditions. I’ve ventured down to the R-level labyrinths to talk with staff who sterilize surgical instruments, escort patients and unload supplies at the dock. They are the backbone of our health system, keeping the workflow running smoothly behind the scenes.
In this final issue of "Inspire" magazine, I thought I’d share some of my favorite stories I’ve been privileged to tell since I first arrived in July 2002:
- In August 2004, Fatma, a 7-year-old girl from a small village in Iraq arrived at Cincinnati Children’s for treatment of a life-threatening heart defect. Her father had brought her to the U.S. military base outside Baghdad and begged for help in saving her. Todd Wilson, a 2nd lieutenant and a physician’s assistant with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, was stationed at the base. He had connections with a colleague of Peter Manning, MD, who was director of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Cincinnati Children’s. After months of collaboration, Fatma traveled 8,000 miles, accompanied by her aunt and the leading pediatric cardiologist from Baghdad. Her surgery went well, and she was able to return home in October. We were advised, when publishing her story in "’Round the Center" and Development’s "Leaps and Bounds" donor magazine, to not show Fatma’s aunt or cardiologist in the photos we took of her, as it could result in dangerous repercussions for her family back home. I received several updates from her American host about Fatma’s health status in the early years following her stay here. She was thriving despite the war that surrounded her.
Fatma with 2nd Lieutenant Todd Wilson in Baghdad.
- On Feb. 11, 2005, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, visited Cincinnati Children’s as a guest of the Association of Volunteers. He toured the Convalescent Hospital for Children and made special stops in Rehabilitation, Patient Services Administration, Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy and Sterile Processing and Distribution. The prince was escorted by an entourage that included Protective Services officers, Scotland Yard agents, a photographer and me. Somehow, in the midst of all the hoopla, I found myself momentarily alone with the prince as we boarded an elevator. I’m sure I broke all kinds of royal protocol when I extended my hand and introduced myself. He shook my hand, smiled and said, “Pleased to meet you.” I could tell you that I haven’t washed that hand since, but that would get me in trouble with Infection Control.
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, checks out a patient's schoolwork during his February 2005 visit. I'm in the background taking notes, as always. Mostly, I tried to stay out of the photographer's shot whenever we covered a story, but he caught me in this one.
- In June 2005, Alvin Crawford, MD, director of Orthopaedics, reunited with 61-year-old John King from Florida. John was a platoon sergeant with the first Marine regiment in Vietnam who was severely injured in battle on March 8, 1967. Dr. Crawford was then a resident and Navy lieutenant commander at Chelsea Naval Hospital outside Boston, where John was sent for treatment. The chief of surgery advised amputating John’s left leg, but Dr. Crawford insisted on trying to save it. I was so impressed by John’s complete lack of bitterness, despite what he’d been through. He maintained that he was deeply grateful for the care he received and for the life he was able to have following his recovery and discharge from the Marines. I was equally impressed with Dr. Crawford for his persistent attempt to heal John’s leg (20 surgeries in all) and for his ability to produce photos of John from 1967 showing the progression of his treatment.
Alvin Crawford, MD, photographs John King's leg, which was severely damaged by an exploding grenade in Vietnam. King uses an Ace bandage to stabilize it. "It works better for me than any brace they have on the market," he says.
- For many years, I was invited to make the rounds on inpatient units with “Virtual Santa.” This was made possible by Child Life, Information Services and Cisco, who provided the technology for Santa’s visits via computer (and later an iPad) with inpatients who were acutely ill or in isolation. Some of the kids were too sick to interact much with Santa, but there was one little boy who greeted us, yellow legal pad in hand bearing a detailed list of what he wanted for Christmas. I still smile when I think of him.
Covering the virtual Santa visits each year was guaranteed to leave me with an extreme case of the warm fuzzies and a lump in my throat.
- On October 27, 2014, Misty Oglesby gave birth to conjoined twins Selah and Shylah. They were delivered at UC Medical Center when Misty was 31 weeks along in her pregnancy. Then they were transferred to Cincinnati Children’s NICU, where they began preparations for separation surgery in January. I received a call from a physician that the family was here and that this would be an incredible story. I went to the NICU with a photographer, thinking that they were expecting me, but when I got there, I quickly realized no one had given them a heads up that I was coming. It was also clear that this was a dire situation, as little Selah had an AV canal defect, and Misty and her husband Curt were exhausted. I sat and talked with them awhile, listening to what they’d been through. I promised to protect their privacy and to be a resource if and when they decided to share their story. They agreed to let our photographer come in and take photos. Then I gave Misty my card and told her she could call me anytime. Two years later, my phone rang, and it was Misty, saying she was ready to tell their story. I went with a videographer and photographer to their home in rural Indiana to interview them. It was such a joy to see the girls playing and looking healthy. Selah’s heart defect had been repaired (though they’d almost lost her several times during their 15-month hospital stay), and she was receiving physical therapy. We shared their story internally and externally—on the Cincinnati Children’s website, on our Facebook page, on our YouTube channel and on our blog. It was also featured on the "Today" show and other national news outlets. In addition, I interviewed Foong-Yen Lim, MD, surgical director of the Cincinnati Fetal Center, for a separate story about the planning that went into the twins’ separation surgery. It was published in the December 2016 issue of "Staff Bulletin," our print publication for medical staff and alumni.
Misty and Curt Oglesby kiss their girls, Selah and Shylah, weeks before their separation surgery.
I could go on about the fascinating men and women I’ve interviewed over the years—Uma Kotagal, Bea Lampkin, Alan Jobe, Vic Garcia, Robin Cotton, Paul Beckman, Erin Riehle, Ann Brandner, Anne Longo. These are only a fraction of the names that come to mind. I’ve also loved shining a light on those who work quietly behind the scenes to move our mission forward. I’m thinking of Kevin Ferguson, a clinical engineer who designed a halo walker on his own time for a little boy whose head and spine were in traction following a surgical procedure. And Yordanos Emahazion in Catering who went above and beyond for a patient from Ethiopia who would not eat anything on the hospital menu. Yordanos, also from Ethiopia, stepped up and cooked meals from her home country for the patient twice a day for weeks, which made a huge difference in her recovery.
Our employees have a passion for what they do, and it has never failed to humble me.
Good subject matter is a must for a writer. I’ve had an embarrassment of riches in that department throughout my career here, and I barely scratched the surface. The work you all do is hard, but it’s so, so worth it. I hope that the stories I’ve told within these pages have inspired you as much as you’ve inspired me.
Interviewing Heloisa Sabin, widow of Albert Sabin, MD, (r) at the 50th anniversary celebration of Sabin Sunday in April 2010.
The Best at Getting Better
One of the biggest perks of my communications career is having had a front-row seat to our quality improvement journey from the beginning, which has dramatically enhanced our standing in the field of pediatrics and beyond.
Cincinnati Children’s received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2002, called “Pursuing Perfection.” With those funds, we piloted quality improvement initiatives in five areas: cystic fibrosis, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchiolitis and transplant medication safety. “P2,” as it was called, marked an innovative approach to care by including the patients’ and families’ voices in how it was delivered. Family-centered care was revolutionary at the time and set us apart from other healthcare organizations.
During my time here, I have chronicled the founding of the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence, I2S2 graduations, surgical safety stand downs, the building of numerous facilities and the launch of multiple “small tests of change” designed to eliminate medical errors and streamline the delivery of care. The new approach gave frontline workers more ownership in how they did their work and helped break down silos so they could see the bigger picture.
We applied that nimbleness to emergency preparedness, as well. The H1N1 epidemic in fall 2009 taught us the value of planning as an organization to support the Burnet and Liberty EDs and other affected areas, a lesson we carried over to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
I wrote about scientific breakthroughs, like the rotavirus vaccine, proton therapy, organoids, new sickle cell treatments and apps that can analyze speech to predict an increased risk for self-harm in patients. Our experts also played an important role in trialing COVID vaccines from Pfizer, BioNTech and AstraZeneca.
Over the last 21 years, we broadened our scope to include international patients from dozens of countries, and we increased our commitment to making clinical and behavioral healthcare accessible to every child who needs our services. In that timespan, we went from barely making it into the top-10 U.S. News Best Pediatric Hospital rankings to the #1 spot for 2023-2024.
In my opinion, the greatness of our organization lies in our long line of visionary leaders and in the generous spirit of collaboration that exists at every level, across every team. The quote I’ve often heard, which I believe originated with Mike Farrell, MD, a former, long-time chief of staff, is “It’s all about the kid in the bed.”
We have our priorities straight at Cincinnati Children's, and that is why I am so proud and grateful to have been a part of this wonderful organization.