Tonight's picture was taken on September 24, 2008. This was Mattie's second month of chemotherapy, but it was before his first surgery. So he still could run, play, and function quite well. That day, Mattie's preschool invited him back to the school to play with a friend on their playground. Mind you by this time, Mattie would have technically been in first grade. But we had a very close tie to Mattie's preschool. As you can see, Mattie was on the slide and his friend, Alex, was running underneath. Mattie had two wonderful years at this preschool and on this playground. It was there Mattie made some of his closest friendships, as did I. Many of our Foundation loyal and dedicated volunteers are moms I met during our preschool days. This playground playdate was a bright moment during a very tumultuous time. Several of Mattie's teachers and the preschool's director were on the playground with us, and we sat and chatted while the boys played.
Quote of the day: For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson
I really did not give much thought to what actually took place in this huge structure when I visited it, but then I turned on the Discovery Channel last night and found out they were televising a three part series called, First in Human. I have to admit at first, I did not get the title. But then as the show explained that a first-in-human study is a clinical trial where a medical procedure, previously developed and assessed through in vitro or animal testing, or through mathematical modelling is tested on human subjects for the first time.
First in Human highlights some of the clinical trials occurring in Building 10. It features the scientists, researchers, clinicians and FOUR patients/families over the course of three, two hour episodes. I found this first episode absolutely fascinating. Not only because such cutting edge science is occurring in this brick structure, but I think what stopped me in my tracks was the courage and bravery of the patients who are willing to enroll in such a clinical trial. A trial where scientists truly do not know the impact, effectiveness, or side effects that will occur when a drug is given to a human. So you maybe asking yourself.... why would a patient ever sign up for something so risky? Well the answer is simple...... standard treatment has failed them, and this is in essence their last resort. Their choice is either definitely die or potentially thrive with experimental treatment. Experimental treatments like this provide hope.
Here is a little more about Building 10.... it is the largest hospital in the United States that is completely devoted to clinical research and it opened in 1953. At the current time, there are over 1,600 different clinical research studies in progress. Patients volunteer to take part in research and, so far, the hospital has seen over 500,000 patients. Some of the pioneering work at this center include curing solid cancerous tumors, treating heart attacks with nitroglycerin, and the identification of genetic components in schizophrenia. Other important areas of research at NIH include creating blood tests to identify both hepatitis and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
This documentary is vivid, real, and the subject matter isn't little. But it is well done and worth watching. It airs on three sequential Thursday evenings on August 10, 17, and 24, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. They are following four patients, who I listed below. One of whom I know has lost his battle to Leukemia. I know there is little comfort that the death of this young man has for his parents and wife, but without a doubt Bo died not only trying to save himself, but also trying to provide data on his disease that would help patients in the future. I would say that Bo, patients like him, and their families are true unsung heroes.
Bo: Acute Lymphobastic Leukemia (died)
Deidra: Sickle Cell Anemia (disease free now)
Lucy: Job Syndrome (in treatment)
Anita: Melanoma
A trailer about the series:
https://www.nih.gov/health-information/first-human
Depending upon your TV provider, you maybe able to see the First Episode by clicking on this link:
https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/first-in-human/full-episodes/admission
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