Winter 2008 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

DONORSSara and Sam Richardson:ACH Donors, Volunteers and Grateful Grandparents■ Alyssa AndersonFor Sara and Sam Richardson, ofEl Dorado and Little Rock, the tiesto Arkansas Children’s Hospital aremany. Sara has been a member ofthe ACH Foundation board ofdirectors since 1999, Sara and Samhave been members of theChildren’s Circle of Care for 10years, and two of their grandchildren,Tad and Sara Marie, have beenpatients at the hospital.Sam says the couple’s interest inACH all boils down to their love forchildren. “I think anyone who supportsArkansas Children’s Hospital Sara and Sam Richardsondoes so because they want to helpchildren – to see them laugh andplay and grow up to be healthy adults,” he says.Sara describes her experience serving on the Foundationboard as personally rewarding. “So many times, I run into peoplewho tell me, ‘We went to Children’s Hospital and our experiencewas wonderful.’ It makes me feel that we have contributed tosomething really worthwhile,” Sara says. “We never thought wemight need ACH when we started supporting it, but ACH wascertainly there for us when we did.”The Richardsons’ personal experience with Arkansas Children’sHospital began in 1999 with their grandson, Tad, whose familylives in Texas. At Sara and Sam’s recommendation, Tad’s parents,Felicia and John, brought their son to see Dr. Eldon Schulz* foran evaluation and diagnosis. Although Dr. Schulz would not putan official label on Tad’s condition, he did tell the family that Tadhad some form of autism.Because the family lives out-of-state, Tad has not continuedtreatment at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, but the Richardsonssay his parents still communicate with Dr. Schulz on an “as-needed”basis.“They look to him for support, even though Tad hasn’t beenback to the hospital for several years,” Sara says. “They know theycan call or e-mail him anytime and he will respond.”Three years ago, Tad’s younger sister, Sara Marie, also becamea patient at ACH, but under very different circumstances. It wasaround Christmas, and Sara Marie, who was 3 years old at thetime, had not been feeling well for several days.“Her parents took her to her doctor in Ft. Worth, not thinkingit was anything serious, andthey found that her bloodsugar was dangerously high,”Sara says. “The doctor toldthem that Sara Marie was criticallyill and that they had toget her to a hospital within sixhours. Because of their previousexperience with Children’sand our involvement, theyknew they wanted to go toACH.”Sara Marie and her familyimmediately flew to LittleRock. Sara Marie spent severalhours in the emergency roomat ACH, where she was diagnosedwith Type I diabetes andwas then transferred to thepediatric intensive care unit.The family spent a week atACH learning how to manage the disease and care for Sara Marie.The Richardsons’ personal experiences with the hospital makethem even happier to be financial supporters of ACH. Since 1998,they have been members of the Children’s Circle of Care, a givingsociety in the United States and Canada that honors individualsand family foundations who give $10,000 or more a year to theirlocal children’s hospitals. Every year, a different city hosts aLeadership Conference and Gala, which brings together Circle ofCare members from across the continent. Conference attendees aretreated to an insiders’ look at the exciting work being done bypediatric hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada as well asworld-class entertainment.“One year, our own Dr. Jim Aronson was one of the speakers atthe conference on his ground- breaking work in orthopedic surgeryusing the Illizarov (bone-lengthening) method, and we wereso proud of him,” Sara says.Sam says the word “fantastic” really sums up the couple’s overallfeelings about the work being done Arkansas Children’sHospital.“It is truly a place of care, love and hope,” he says, “and theoverall growth since we’ve been involved is just unbelievable. We’reproud to be supporters.”*Eldon Schulz, M.D., is medical director of the DennisDevelopmental Center, chief of developmental/behavioral andrehab pediatrics, and professor of pediatrics and physical medicineand rehabilitation, UAMS College of Medicine.13