Fifteen-year-old Emily Castle isn’t your typical teen-ager. Plagued by health issues all her life, by the time she was just 13 she was experiencing headache pain severe enough to send her home from school. After a long search for treatment that would ease her pain, Emily and her mother finally found relief in the headache program at Our Children’s House at Baylor Dallas.
Emily and her mother, Sheri, moved to Grapevine in 2010, and Emily was eager to make new friends and participate in sports such as basketball, swimming and cheerleading. Unfortunately, her headache pain occurred with enough frequency and severity that she not only had to give up sports, but she also stopped attending school at all. At one point she was admitted to the hospital because she was in such pain that intravenous medicines were necessary to ease her discomfort.
“It was hard to see Emily give up activities she enjoyed,” her mother said. “But seeing her in such pain was even more difficult. It was obvious to me that Emily’s headaches were more than your typical occasional headache.”
The Comprehensive Pediatric Headache Center at Our Children’s House treats children for severe headache pain in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
“The goal is to provide diagnosis and treatments that will help children who experience severe headaches regain a better quality of life,” says Kelli Terpstra RN, MSN, NEA-BC, vice president of clinical services and chief nursing officer for Our Children's House at Baylor. “We develop a specialized and individualized approach for each patient and come up with an individually tailored treatment plan.”
Individualized care and a patient-centered approach are what made the difference for Emily. Since her treatment began in July she’s learned how to manage her headache pain and how to treat a migraine at its onset.
“The doctors and staff at Our Children’s House talk to me and treat me as an individual, not just another headache patient,” says Emily. “They taught me that simple things like stretching and rest when I feel a headache coming on can really make a difference.”
Emily is on a daily preventive medication to decrease the frequency and severity of headaches, and also has a prescription for abortive medication to try to stop the attack once she feels the onset of pain. A headache calendar helps track her headaches and identify possible triggers to avoid in the future.
Emily now has the tools to keep her headache pain from discouraging her. She’s attending high school a few days a week and working with tutors to keep from falling behind on school work. Inspired by everything she’s learned during her headache treatment, Emily’s dream is to practice medicine and help children.
About Our Children’s House at Baylor
Our Children’s House at Baylor, a licensed, not-for-profit children’s hospital, was founded with a mission to provide coordinated comprehensive services to children with special health care needs. This technologically advanced hospital with a relaxed, home-like environment treats patients from infancy to 18 years of age, emphasizing education and training for family members. Since the founding of the original hospital, OCH has opened outpatient centers in Allen, Coppell, Dallas, Frisco, Grapevine, Irving, Rockwall and Waxahachie. For more information about Our Children’s House at Baylor, visit www.BaylorHealth.com/och.
Contact:
Kristine Hughes
kristine.hughes@baylorhealth.edu
214.820.7556
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform — MyBSWHealth. Through 52 hospitals and more than 1,300 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com