They Made Me Feel Happy!

When Jade was only 4 years old, her gymnastics coaches recognized something in her that was special. After her first two weeks of gymnastics classes, the coaches approached Jade’s mother, Jazzmyne, about Jade being on their team. “I couldn’t understand how they could see that quickly that she was meant to do this long-term because she literally had done it for two weeks,” says Jazzmyne. “After the first six months or so, I did notice that she had a great talent for gymnastics!”

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Siblings Soar To Success With Take Flight

When Preston struggled with school in 1st grade, his parents took him for a learning evaluation at the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia & Learning Disorders. They found the answers to help Preston with dyslexia, and thanks to the center’s Take Flight program and Preston’s hard work, his reading skills were propelled sky high.

Little sister Emerson showed signs of a learning disorder around the same age, and Take Flight saved the day again. “My heart broke hearing my children say they didn’t think they were as smart as the other kids in class,” their mother, Ashley, says. “They have confidence now and know they will be successful in life.”

You Just Never Know The Impact You’re Going To Have

Very few people love Scottish Rite for Children as much as Robert “Bob” Ayers. Introduced in 1981, Ayers’ first encounter as an evening impatient volunteer left him changed. He read some books and talked with a young patient until the boy fell asleep. “I drove home that first night feeling better than I ever had, thinking ‘I’ve done a little bit of good,’” Ayers says. “I was hooked.”

Ayers, an oil and gas engineer and aviation enthusiast, would only visit the child a few times during his stay, but Ayers’ kindness and easygoing nature put the patient at ease. Having never seen him again, eight years later, Ayers would receive a high school graduation announcement from the patient. “You just never know the impact that you’re going to have,” Ayers says. In his 40 years of volunteering, hundreds more patients have experienced his compassion, generosity and friendliness.

Always promoting his alma mater Texas A&M University, Ayers would pass out Aggie T-shirts by the boxful with the inpatients, handing them out until maroon and white shirts were everywhere. Hundreds of T-shirt giveaways later, Ayers earned the nickname “Aggie Bob.”

There are things that you get from being around here and seeing it,” Ayers says. “It’s hard to explain that kind of feeling, but to an engineer, it’s miracles, and I know these doctors think the same way.”

Ayers has been a mainstay on the Amputee Ski Trip, attending for nearly 30 years. Drawn to help encourage patients in new ways out in the world, Ayers found his place. “They’re not at the hospital, which is their safe space,” Ayers says. “They’re out there where they have all the challenges that society, unfortunately, puts upon them.” After chaperoning a few years, Ayers realized that many of the teenagers expressed concerns about their future – saving money for and attending college.

Hearing these patients’ concerns moved Ayers to act on their behalf. He advocated with Scottish Rite leadership for an opportunity to help the patients he had grown to admire reach their educational goals. His idea would become the Legacy Scholarship Program, where former Scottish Rite for Children patients can apply to the program for scholarships that can be used toward tuition, books and room and board. Since 1986, the Legacy Scholarship Program has awarded more than 1,700 scholarships with a 96 percent graduation rate for participants. As Ayers says, you do not always know the impact that you are going to have.

Ayers joined the board of trustees in 2014, and he uses his vast experience to help other board members understand what Scottish Rite means to our patients. “In board meetings, we often get to see videos of patients telling their stories,” Ayers says. “But until you really get to know these kids through volunteering with the patients, you can’t truly understand or appreciate the impact that Scottish Rite has.”

A Soccer Injury Won’t Slow This MVP Down For Long

During a soccer game this spring, 14-year-old “Coppell FC” midfielder, Thomas, blocked a shot and fell to the ground. His father, Michael, didn’t think too much of it. Thomas often puts his body on the line to make shots and blocks, and most of the time, he quickly bounces up and continues to play. “When he didn’t get up, I realized that something was different,” says Michael. “We hit the ball on opposite sides at the exact same time, so that twisted my knee, and I heard a pop,” says Thomas recalling the play. Michael ran to Thomas on the field and could see that his knee was already swelling.

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Helping Kaliya Achieve Her Goals

When Kaliya was 9 years old, her gymnastics coach told her mother that Kaliya had a natural talent for the sport. “She had been doing gymnastics for four years at that point, and, of course, every parent thinks that their child is amazing, but when her coach told me that, I knew that she had a real gift,” says Kaliya’s mother, Jamesse. Kaliya began participating in USA Gymnastics competitions like Talent Opportunity Program (TOPS) and Hopes. She came in first place all-around in her first Hopes Championship.

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Study of Patient-Reported Outcomes of Legg-Calvé-Perthes Leads To Greater Mental Health Awareness for Healing Children

A new study of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease on patients’ mental health at Scottish Rite for Children led to helpful insights for pediatric orthopedic care for the condition and an award for UTSouthwestern medical student Angel Valencia. Training with Harry Kim, M.D., M.S., the director of the Center for Excellence in Hip, Valencia was awarded the PROMIS® Health Organization Trainee Poster Award for his work analyzing data from PROMIS® Health Organization’s patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS®), which allows patients to evaluate and monitor their physical, mental and social health.

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The Work Takes Time, But It Makes You Great

18-year-old Caden has always loved baseball. He has been playing since he was 4 years old, and he’s received numerous awards through the years. When he was just 12, he was awarded Perfect Game’s Super25 MVP pitcher. As a teenager, he was included in Perfect Game’s All-Tournament Selection, Pre-Season All-American and All-Region teams. Caden plays second base mainly, but he has seen time at shortstop and center field. He is also a phenomenal, right-handed pitcher.

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Always Forward Through Any Obstacle

Seeing Avery sail through the air in pole vault competitions is a sight to behold. Diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis at 4 years old, Avery’s care at Scottish Rite has always focused on keeping her active. Throughout her athletic journey, Avery has broken records and beaten personal bests. She won a silver medal in pole vault at the state meet her senior year in high school, and she is now on the University of Kansas track and field team.

“I think that the greatest thing that we can give anyone is the hope of a better tomorrow, and I feel that we got that every day at Scottish Rite,” her mother, Michelle, says.

National Institutes of Health Grant Awarded to Wise is Good For Kids

Researchers at Scottish Rite for Children have received an R03 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support their efforts in a new Genomics of Orthopaedic Disease (GOOD for Kids) program. Originally funded by a grant from the NIH Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, GOOD for Kids will continue work to understand adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The new grant will fund the analysis of a vast amount of genetic data coupled with leading-edge genomic technologies to discover genetic causes of AIS.

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Keep Pushing

17-year-old Jazzy has been playing basketball since she was 3 years old. Her mom, Krystal, first began to see signs of Jazzy's gift for the sport when she was in fourth grade. "She was tenacious," says Krystal. "She was really good."

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Many Reasons To Celebrate

“Keegan is everything that is good in this world wrapped up into the sweetest little boy,” his mother, Jenn, says. Keegan was playfully wrestling with his brother when he fell and broke both bones in his forearm. Parents know bumps, bruises and breaks happen, and Jenn took Keegan for care at the Fracture Clinic.

The team explained the custom treatment plan in a way he could understand and turned the family’s fear and worry into comfort and calm. He’s celebrating a quick recovery, and we are celebrating too because it’s our birthday! We have been giving children back their childhood for more than 100 years!

Study Shows That Lupus May Be Triggered by Red Blood Cells with Mitochondria

Researchers at Scottish Rite for Children collaborated in a recent study on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic disease that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack healthy tissues and cells. The study showed that lupus may be triggered by red blood cells that fail to shed their mitochondria. Mitochondria help convert oxygen into energy in most cells, but they are not normally in red blood cells. When red blood cells hold onto their mitochondria, it can trigger the harmful immune activity associated with lupus. Participants with the most severe lupus symptoms had red blood cells with detectible levels of mitochondria, while healthy controls had no mitochondria-containing red blood cells.

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Believe in Yourself and Don’t Give Up

“Levi has always been a natural athlete,” says his mother, Emily. “In T-ball, he had to play third base because he threw too hard for the other kids to handle from close range.” When Levi was on the field, he always had a huge smile that everyone noticed, and it earned him the nickname, “Smiley.”

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I Am Highly Blessed, And I Need To Give Back

Herman “Mike” Motley is a very giving man, especially of his time. After spending 37 years at AT&T coordinating telecommunication infrastructure construction, he was considering retirement. Approached by Haros Brothers, a privately held and minority-led company, he was recruited to open doors for additional bids due to his vast experience. Motley gave 20 years to the company and still consults periodically, but he says he is mainly just enjoying life.

Motley manages and works on his ranch in Cross Plains, Texas, and he rides his Harley-Davidson out in the country. He says he is glad to see the beautiful land that God created. Motley is thankful for all that he has, which is why he is so driven to give back to people in need. “I am highly blessed, and I need to give back,” he says. For Motley, that means giving his time to his church, charitable organizations, his fellow Masons and his family.

He loves spending time with his wife of 56 years, Donna, their son and his wife, Travis and Tiffany, and their two granddaughters, Madison and Makinley. A church member for more than 20 years, Motley was elected and ordained as a deacon at Lakeshore Baptist Church in Weatherford, Texas. Through his church, Motley and his wife traveled for many mission trips, but he says the most memorable remains a trip to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York following the 9/11 attacks. Compelled to help, they were told that the best thing to do was just to listen to those injured who needed time and support processing what happened. “It felt good to help someone who had just lost everything that they had,” Motley says. “They were dealing with the worst tragedy that the United States had gone through at that time.”

Part of what makes Motley so generous with his time can be attributed to his role as a Mason. “Masonry takes a good man and makes him better,” Motley says. This year, he will earn a special honor when he becomes a 50-year Mason. He is a charter member and past president of the Brazos Valley Scottish Rite Club and a charter and endowed member of the Fort Worth Scottish Rite Bodies, where he serves as a master of the 11th degree. Motley received his honorary 33rd degree of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 2004.

Motley also gives his time to Scottish Rite for Children, where he has served on the board of trustees since 2014. In Fort Worth in the 1950s, his brother was treated for polio, and he witnessed the challenges his brother and family endured. Motley recalls his brother’s tears when touring Scottish Rite together brought back his brother’s memories of his time in a polio ward.

“It makes me feel so good to know that I’m helping to make someone’s life better, even the small part that I play,” he says. “I’m very fortunate to be associated with Scottish Rite.”

Bryce’s Treatment is a Home Run

When an injury threatened to keep Bryce off the baseball field for nine months, he and his family turned to Scottish Rite for Children to get him back in the game.

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Mr. Personality

With his joyful spirit and beaming smile, Knox makes friends easily, and Joda, his mother, calls him Mr. Personality. In the womb, amniotic band syndrome kept some of his fingers from developing, but Scottish Rite’s upper limb experts gave Knox better use of his hand. He thrived in Hand Camp, where he met many other kids with hand differences. Together, they discovered that nothing can stop them from achieving their goals.

Knox enjoys taekwondo and creating his own comic books. “Scottish Rite has been an amazing blessing to our family,” Joda says. “There is nothing that he can’t do.”

Myson’s Amazing Rebound

When an injury put basketball phenom Myson on the bench, the team at Scottish Rite for Children helped him recover and return to the court.

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Embracing Skye’s Treatment

Skye has always been an active girl. Her mother, Shalea, noticed Skye’s awesome athletic talent when she was 7. Skye would fly around the court playing basketball, and when the season was over, she would do cheer for other teams. “She’s always been the shortest and smallest, but she’s one of the toughest,” says Shalea.

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Comforted With Exceptional Care

Blair is a very happy baby, and she loves to show it with her joyous smile and her sweet voice. At 6 weeks old, she was diagnosed with bilateral developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), which causes a shallow socket and limited coverage of the ball. DDH is common with female firstborn children who were breech births.

Blair wore a Pavlik harness to reorient and repair her hips for three months. “The harness never bothered Blair,” her mother, Maggie, says. “The team was thorough and reassuring, answering any questions I had.” Finished with the harness, Blair stays busy rolling over and starting to crawl – all with her gleeful giggles.

Adolescent Hip Dysplasia and Other Causes of Hip Pain

In hip dysplasia, the acetabulum (or hip socket) is shallow and doesn’t adequately cover the femoral head. Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) occurs in approximately 1% of newborn children, and it is associated with four risk factors:

• Female

• Firstborn

• Feet first (breech)

• Family history

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I Hope I’ve Helped Others The Way I Was Helped

Trustee Brady G. Elliott says his mentors have shaped him into the man he is today. Through these mentors, Elliott learned what he considers the most significant lesson – the importance of giving back to the community. As a lawyer and later as a judge, his career surrounded him with opportunities to mentor and lead others.

He used his position and experience in the judicial system to raise awareness and improve treatment for various societal issues, such as mental health and drug abuse. Whether through his career achievements or in his role as a trustee at Scottish Rite for Children, his life’s work to continually give back and make a difference has helped build a brighter future for countless individuals.

Outside of the courtroom, Elliott has always craved adventure. “I was a scuba diver at age 12,” he says. Elliott also learned to fly airplanes with his father, who operated a flight school. While studying at the University of Houston, he completed his pilot’s license. He later joined the U.S. Air Force, and while serving, he started jumping out of airplanes. “I ended up liking skydiving so much that I became the West Texas area safety officer for the United States Parachute Association,” Elliott says.

Although his stepfather was a Mason, it was later in Elliott’s life that Masonry piqued his interest. He gained respect for the organization and its lodge members through his involvement in various service organizations, and those encounters made him desire to learn more and become a Mason himself.

“Meeting with other Masons, learning the work and applying it has impacted me in a long-term way in my career, as well as with my family,” Elliott says. “Mentors help you focus where you need to be putting your attention, and I hope I’ve helped others the way I was helped.”

Elliott’s mentors led by example and showed him ways his talent practicing law could ultimately be used to give back to his community. He believes that as a lawyer, he was a servant to others, and much like physicians, his giving spirit could help people through their roughest times. “People come to us at the worst times in their lives,” Elliott says. “Our training allows us to help them when they need it the most.”

Detecting and Treating Scoliosis

People hear the term scoliosis often, but they may not know what it means. Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Megan E. Johnson, M.D., walked through each phase of detecting and treating scoliosis in a recent lecture. This summary provides health care professionals with a succinct summary and language to navigate the steps and conversations with patients presenting with suspected scoliosis.

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Protector Of The Playground

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Super-Bryson, protector of the playground who stands up for all kids with differences!

Sometimes present at birth or developing during childhood, limb length differences can be improved surgically using an external fixator, like the one developed by Scottish Rite’s team called the TRUE/LOK™ External Fixation System. Some limb differences make daily activities difficult, so lengthening treatment helps Bryson overcome those obstacles. Today Bryson is patrolling the playground, and with his amazing courage and help from Scottish Rite, nothing stands in his way. Up, up and away!

Understanding the Complexities of RVU Compensation Plans

With complete transparency between facilities and physicians, RVUs can ensure a rewarding experience and allow physicians to focus on patient care. We delve into the complexities of RVU compensation plans.

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How Facilities Can Stand Apart While Recruiting A Physician

Competition for physicians between rural and metro areas has become intense, but compensation and benefits have become more similar between the two areas. We explore what facilities can do to differentiate themselves.

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How Nurse Practitioners Can Help Reduce the Physician Shortage

The growing physician shortage is causing an ever-increasing demand for health care professionals. One way to meet the growing demand for qualified health care providers is to allow Nurse Practitioners full practice authority. While this would provide easier access for patients and keep costs down, the decision to give full practice authority to NPs is divided.

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The Sprawling Costs of Physician Vacancies

The effects of physician vacancies reach much further than the facility's bottom line. Vacancies have significant impacts from economic development in local communities to medical staff morale.

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What is Causing the Growing Physician Shortage, and What Can Be Done About It?

Projections show that a shortage of approximately 100,000 physicians by the year 2032 is likely. We take a look at why the shortage is happening and at ways to correct it.

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4 Common Concerns of New Physicians

New physicians can feel overwhelmed as they are beginning their careers. Here are insights into some of their most common concerns.

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Common Misconceptions about Physicians on J-1 Visas

Hiring physicians on J-1 visas is one answer to the increasing physician shortage, so we address some common misconceptions.

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