UMMC issued the following press release written by Annie Oeth.
Kara McGuffee was in love with her son’s face from first sight.
“Look
at his hair,” she said to her obstetrician, Dr. Rachael Morris of the
University of Mississippi Medical Center. “And those eyes!”
Through
the diagnostic imaging of 3-D and 4-D ultrasound, multivessel Doppler,
fetal MRIs and fetal echocardiograms, Morris and fetal cardiologist Dr.
Jennifer Shores, both members of UMMC’s Center for Maternal and Fetal
Care, saw more than Harper Kade McGuffee’s handsome features before he
was born. They saw the inner workings of his heart.
Kara,
of Tylertown, first came to UMMC for her own risks, having had
preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition, during previous
pregnancies. While pregnant with Kade, she and husband Adam learned that
their son has a mosaic form of Down syndrome and a congenital heart
defect.
The
McGuffees welcomed Kade into the world May 20, and after about a week
in neonatal intensive care, he was able to go home with his family.
UMMC
has “taken care of setting up every aspect of care for us to follow up
with after our return home,” Kara said. “From starting us with
nutrition, cardiology, endocrinology, early intervention, genetics and
setting up a primary pediatrician, they have really taken the very best
care of our baby. We are so thankful to have had the benefit of the
expertise provided by the UMMC team.”
At
the Center for Maternal and Fetal Care, experts who treat mothers with
risk factors including high blood pressure and diabetes, and neonatal
and pediatric subspecialists who care for the most medically fragile
babies in the state work together for the best outcomes for mothers and
their newborns. UMMC is reaching out to south Mississippi families by
offering care from Dr. Tony Wen, director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine,
and obstetrician-gynecologist and maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr.
James Bofill at the Children’s of Mississippi specialty clinic in
Biloxi.
The
care of Kara and Kade both happen at the center, located in Wiser
Hospital for Women and Infants on the UMMC campus in Jackson. Morris
shares care responsibilities for Kara with her obstetrician in McComb.
Shores, director of the Fetal Heart Program at UMMC, is Kade’s fetal
cardiologist.
“After
confirming the heart defect, the fetal cardiologists have co-managed
with us,” said Morris. “Kara has returned monthly for ultrasound
surveillance of the heart defect and to monitor Kade’s growth.”
For families such as the McGuffees, the care team comes together at the Center for Maternal and Fetal Care, Bofill said.
“Once a woman’s obstetrician has referred her to us, our experts work together for what’s best for the mother and the baby.”
Kara
said the experts at UMMC have helped bring peace of mind during a
difficult pregnancy, even taking her to visit the neonatal intensive
care unit and having a meeting with Dr. Brian Kogon, chief of pediatric
cardiothoracic surgery at Children’s of Mississippi, who will perform
Kade’s heart procedure later this year.
“We
love the doctors here,” she said. “They are all so kind and personable,
and very relatable. They’ve introduced us to everyone who will be
caring for me and for Kade.”
Angel
Maxell felt the same way about 18 years ago, when she was referred to
Shores, who had recently come to UMMC as a fetal and pediatric
cardiologist.
Her son, Garrett, was diagnosed with hypoplastic right heart syndrome. Shores has been his cardiologist ever since.
“Dr.
Shores is an excellent doctor, and she means the world to us,” Maxwell
said. “She not only has the knowledge and expertise, but she truly cares
about her patients. Garrett was her first fetal patient upon coming to
Mississippi, and we have seen her ever since.”
Born
at the healthy weight of 8 pounds, 2 ounces, Garrett had two surgeries
to correct his congenital heart anomalies, at 6 months and 3 years old,
and he hasn’t slowed down since, Maxwell said.
“He
has continued to excel in the classroom. Garrett just graduated from
West Lincoln High in the top 10 of his class,” she said. “He was even
voted Mr. West Lincoln by his peers.”
“Baseball
is his passion,” his mother said. “Garrett has been a part of several
All-Star teams as a youth and even won a state title in the Babe Ruth
league. He has been a starting player on the baseball team since his
sophomore year. He has received the Coach’s Award and was named to the
All-District team last year.”
Congenital
heart conditions such as Garrett’s and Kade’s can be detected in utero,
but only if mothers have access to ultrasound technology and expertise.
“We
are only finding about 26 percent of congenital heart disease before
birth in Mississippi,” Bofill said. “We could improve that rate if more
women got the maternal-fetal care needed.”
Expansion
of maternal-fetal medicine and fetal cardiology is needed, Shores said.
“Mississippi has one of the lowest fetal cardiac detection rates in the
country.”
Construction of a seven-story pediatric expansion at the Medical Center will boost the level of care available to newborns.
The
expansion will include 88 private neonatal intensive care rooms,
allowing parents to stay with their babies during their recovery. There
will also be additional space for pediatric intensive care and surgical
suites, as well as an imaging center designed for children, including
newborns. Outpatient specialty care will have a new home there, as will
the Children’s Heart Center.
“There
is a huge need for maternal-fetal medicine in Mississippi,” Shores
said, “and with the new state-of-the-art tower, we will have the
potential for treating even more patients.”
2 comments:
Sigh....more money for the Oxford plantation.
Sorry Chester - Oxford has no say in how this UMMC program is run. Take your lying ass elsewhere.
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