Mary Cornelia Bradley Society - University of Wisconsin Hospital ...

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Meet
Kennedy
Kennedy Brown was two months old when her UW Health
pediatrician, Richard Ellis, MD, noticed an abnormality
in her head shape. Her parents, Matt and Vanessa of
Fitchburg, Wisconsin, were told that their daughter’s skull
was expanding in length, but not in width.
A condition known as sagittal craniosynostosis was
ultimately diagnosed, meaning that bones within
Kennedy’s skull had fused together instead of stretching
and producing new bone to accommodate normal brain
growth. To remedy the situation, Kennedy’s skull was
surgically repaired in January 2011 by UW Health Pediatric
Plastic Surgeon Delora Mount, MD and UW Health
Pediatric Neurosurgeon Bermans Iskandar, MD.
“Dr. Iskandar and I treated
Kennedy by creating an ear-to-ear incision,” says
Dr. Mount, “and then removing the prematurely fused
bones in her skull, creating room for her head to grow in
width as well as length. Within just a few weeks, her head
began assuming a more normal shape. She did just great
and her family was wonderful.”
Having a child undergo neurosurgery is never easy, but
the Browns say American Family Children’s Hospital
caregivers did everything possible to alleviate the stress.
“During surgery, the nurses came out every hour to assure
us that things were going just fine with Kennedy,” says
Matt. “That very day, we got to hold her after surgery
and it really just made the whole experience so very
comfortable for us and for her.”
Vanessa agrees, noting that staff frequently assisted in
many ways, including keeping friends and family aware of
Kennedy’s developments.
Just one month after surgery, Kennedy’s head became
noticeably more normal in shape. Aside from a few routine
follow-up visits this year, Kennedy should be on her way to
a completely healthy life.
“She’s doing just awesome,” Vanessa says. “We’re very
happy.”
Meet
Brayden
UW Health pediatrician
Carleen Hanson, MD, has performed many routine
check-ups on newborns throughout her practice at the
UW Health East Clinic in Madison. In January 2011,
however, she witnessed something highly unusual when
two-week old Brayden Greiber of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin,
came in for a visit.
“At the end of Brayden’s check-up,” says Dr. Hanson, “I
was talking with his mom, Marisa, when Brayden suddenly
turned pale. He got very quiet and was breathing shallowly.
I listened to his heart, and his heart rate was low – a sign
that his blood oxygen level also was low. We started
oxygen, which helped him perk up and immediately sent
him by ambulance to American Family Children’s Hospital.”
Four hours later, while being admitted to his hospital room,
an even more frightening episode occurred. Brayden
stopped breathing and his skin began to turn blue.
“Things started moving very fast,” remembers Marisa.
“They immediately inserted a breathing tube to get him
oxygen. After what happened that morning at his check-up,
we could not believe how close he came to his last breath.”
After a few days in the hospital and very close monitoring
by critical care physicians, nurses and staff, Brayden was
doing well enough to come home. Marisa, her husband
Ryan and their two-year-old son, Austen, could not believe
their good fortune.
“We are so grateful Brayden was in the right place at the
right time,” says Marisa. “Had he stopped breathing in the
car, he would have died. For him to be at the hospital when
this happened, we know there was an angel watching over
him somewhere.”
Since January, Brayden has been doing just fine. Everyone
is literally breathing easier.
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