2011 Murat Divan

HOSPITAL NEWS
“Shriners are Wonderful,
Awesome People”
GORDON J HUSK, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, SHRINERS HOSPITAL ® –CHICAGO
William Edward Lee Whyde, Jr.
was born January 10, 1993. His
little sister Paige was born
January 13, 1995. The boy was commonly
called Bubby. “Bubby” was very extroverted,
while Paige was a shy, quiet little girl.
They were happy children. On December
24, 1996, their happy world was turned
upside down.
Bubby was within a few days of his
fourth birthday, and Paige was soon to
have her second birthday. Their parents
shared custody, and the children were at
their father’s home in Terre Haute, IN,
when a fire started. The house became a
blazing inferno. The children were rescued
and taken to an Indianapolis hospital.
Mary, the mother of the two children,
was at work in Indianapolis and was asked
to come to the front office. She was told
about the fire, and she went to the hospital.
Weather conditions were bad, and the
trip to the hospital seemed to take forever.
When she arrived, doctors were trying to
stabilize the condition of the two children.
Mary was taken to a small room and told
someone would be out to speak with her.
A nurse came into the room and told Mary
she could see the children for only a few
minutes because doctors were still working
on them.
After the children had been cared for
initially, they were transferred to another
hospital’s intensive care unit. Mary and
other family members awaited news about
Bubby and Paige. Mary heard an urgent
code call, and seemed to know it involved
Bubby. She ran into the room and saw a
doctor frantically performing CPR on
Bubby. When resuscitation attempts
ended, Mary held Bubby in her arms as he
took his final breath. She then asked a
nurse where she could find Paige. The
nurse told her Paige was in the next room.
Mary says, “Paige was wrapped up like a
mummy. I could only see her eyes. She
was in a medically induced coma, but she
somehow was able to raise her arms. I told
the doctors Paige couldn’t breathe and had
been born with chronic asthma. They
checked her lungs and found they were
being filled with fluid.”
Paige was in a burns unit two months.
She had six major surgical procedures within
the first week. Mary was vigilant, staying
by Paige’s side for those two months.
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THE MURAT MAGAZINE