Patient Stories: Children's

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

Frederick's Perfect Storm
   

Frederick's numbers are remarkable -- 2 years old, two hurricanes, three liver transplants and a journey of hundreds of miles. But the statistics only begin to tell the real story of a mother who wouldn't give up and a team of doctors with the expertise to save his life.

Frederick had a touch of jaundice when he was born in New Orleans in 2004. After a few days under the lights, he went home with his mother, Kristi. But when his skin and eyes began to turn yellow, Kristi knew something was wrong.

He was listed for a liver transplant and in March 2005, at 11 months of age, Frederick underwent his first transplant in New Orleans. There were complications: a clot in a blood vessel and internal bleeding, followed by infection. His body was rejecting the transplant.

On July 19, 2005, Frederick received a second transplant, and on Aug. 20, he went home. He was recovering well until Hurricane Katrina blew in. Kristi and her son fled New Orleans and drove for 16 hours, finally stopping at a shelter in Mont Belvieu, Texas. A few weeks later, just after they had moved into an apartment in Dayton, Hurricane Rita forced them to evacuate to Lufkin. After reaching Lufkin, they were evacuated again.

Meanwhile, Frederick was getting sicker, and his abdomen was distended to the point that he wouldn't walk. Desperate for answers, Kristi was referred to a hospital in Dallas, where an employee suggested Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital.

"When I got to Children's Memorial Hermann, I felt a warmth immediately," Kristi said. "I just felt a real caring and concern."

By the time Frederick reached Children's Memorial Hermann, he was gravely ill. Ruben Quiros, M.D., the pediatric hepatologist who saw him in the emergency room, told Kristi that Frederick showed signs of end-stage liver disease. The fluid in his abdomen had to be drained continuously to allow him to breathe. He had an infection and a large vascular clot that reached almost all the way to the heart, causing liver venous outlet obstruction and liver disease

"Another transplant was the only answer, and it was obvious this was going to be a major endeavor," said Quiros, who is associate professor of clinical pediatrics at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and practices at the Memorial Hermann Texas Liver Center. "This kind of intervention is not done all the time, and some centers wouldn't have the expertise. It's a complicated surgery with a high mortality rate."

Quiros presented the case to Luis Mieles, M.D., medical director of liver transplantation at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. "The first time I saw Frederick, it really broke my heart," Mieles said.

"This desperate displaced single mom was looking all over Texas for someone to save her baby's life. I knew it was going to be a horrendously complicated case, but I also knew we had the expertise to offer this child this opportunity."

A liver became available within a few weeks. The transplant surgery, which lasted nine hours, was a success. Today, for the first time since his birth, two-and-a-half-year-old Frederick walks and talks like a typical child and Kristi is happily chasing after a toddler who's into everything, thankful for the doctors who saved his life.