Issue 2 - Summer - Providence Washington - Providence Health ...

“I wish I could put into words what it’s
like to have my son. I am sad when I
think of the loss another family had and
hope it helps them to know that they
saved my son’s life.”
situation, but Masin had no choice
and was there every single day and
night, just waiting. He is an amazing
child.”
Ask Masin how he coped and
he’ll say that in addition to having
staff members take him outside or
up on the roof to meet a MedStar
helicopter pilot, he played video
games—a lot. “It helped me escape,”
he says.
Barely Holding On
As often happens with patients
awaiting transplant, Masin experienced
a false alarm, a call to
prepare for surgery, only to hear
that the donor’s heart was not a
great fit. That was “providential” as
people of Providence say when lifechanging
coincidences occur.
“His condition was so tenuous,
it wouldn’t have been a good time
to proceed with surgery,” says Beth
Dullanty, RN, coordinator of congenital
heart services.
A few weeks later, the Hawkins
family prepared again for the lifesaving
transplant Masin so desperately
needed. It was a Friday
morning in mid-December and
Sacred Heart transplant surgeon
Timothy Icenogle, MD, was ready
to fly to the location where a heart
for Masin could be retrieved from a
donor who was on life support.
“Spokane was completely fogged
in,” remembers Dullanty. “There
were no flights going in or out.”
The days prior had been sunny,
without a cloud in the sky. “I
couldn’t understand why this was
happening,” Cindy says.
The surgery was called off again
and staff encouraged Masin to
go to the cafeteria for his favorite
menu item, orange chicken. He was
about to take their advice when
he experienced his longest run of
“V-tach” (the super-fast heartbeat)
and was sent straight to bed. Perhaps
there was fog for a reason.
At home on Saturday, Dullanty
put on her “Heart for Hawkins”
T-shirt and prayed for a miracle.
That evening, Dr. Icenogle drove
to Coeur d’Alene’s small municipal
airport where the fog had lifted
and planes were cleared for takeoff.
At 9 p.m., Masin’s new heart was in
place and working fine.
“It was an act of God,” Dullanty
says of the event.
Thank You to the Family
That Saved Him
Days after his transplant, Cindy
learned of her acceptance into North
Idaho College’s nursing program. She
was fearful of committing to it with
Masin at home recuperating, but he
reminded her she’d wanted to be a
nurse for a long time. “Go to school,
Mom,” he said. “I will be OK.”
And he is. He’s been enjoying his
favorite activities again—dirt bike
riding, snowboarding and shooting
hoops with friends. He’s also taking
driver’s ed classes to prepare for his
next exciting journey.
“I wish I could put into words
what it’s like to have my son,” Cindy
says. “I am sad when I think of the
loss another family had and hope it
helps them to know that they saved
my son’s life.”
Sensitive
work
“Making organ and tissue donation
possible takes an incredible
amount of teamwork among multiple
health care providers and other partners—
and it requires great sensitivity toward all
the people involved,” says Timothy Stevens,
RN, director of Transplant Services
at Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s
Hospital.
The team includes caregivers, chaplains,
patients and families. Each member
of the team has emotional and spiritual
needs that must be respected.
“Caregivers working in intensive care
units put up a good fight for their patients’
lives and when those efforts don’t have
the intended outcome, it’s hard,” he says.
“Then they switch gears and begin the
difficult conversation about whether this
patient could be a donor.”
“These are seasoned nurses, physicians
and chaplains who face death regularly, but
losses take their toll,” Stevens says.
Providence takes seriously the task
of caring for the caregiver. Debriefing
sessions help the staff express their
feelings and celebrate their role in being
there for families.
In addition, Sacred Heart has a Donation
Champions Committee that includes
hospital staff as well as representatives
from LifeCenter Northwest and SightLife
(organ and tissue procurement agencies)
to address the complex world of donation,
which includes special counseling
and care for families of patients who
decide to donate during those last few
hours of life, and live donors who require
a special kind of care.
“We know Sacred Heart takes excellent
care of the patients receiving organ transplants,”
Stevens says. “This committee is
about taking care of the people who do
the donating.”
It’s sensitive and challenging work. But
every person who becomes a donor has
the potential to save or change lives. And
that makes it all worthwhile.
Summer 2012 Heart Beat ● 21