Nurses and Doctors Help Backstreet Boy Teach Heart Health

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Feb 25, 2001 Source: NurseZone.com Submitted By: Nicky By Jeff Keller, NurseZone Feature Writer Following successful surgery to repair a ventricular septal defect, Brian Littrell, member of the popular Backstreet Boys singing group, used his fame and fortune – along with the challenge of living a normal life with a cardiac condition – to benefit others. With the help of his pediatric nurse and other caregivers, Littrell founded the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids, a program that teaches children preventive medicine and preaches the value of heart health. Brian Littrell was born with a ventricular septal defect, a congenital defect of the heart caused by a small hole in the wall that separates the heart’s two lower chambers. Surgery to repair the defect is sometimes required in children, but Brian showed no symptoms of heart problems and did not seem to be affected by the heart defect. Surgery was not recommended at the time. At age 5, Brian was admitted to Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. He developed bacterial endocarditis, an acquired infection of the lining and valves of the heart. Brian’s condition was critical and he was seriously ill. He received extensive IV therapy and was placed under strict observation, according to Marilyn Swinford, one of Brian’s pediatric nurses. Swinford was one of the medical professionals whose opinion the Littrells sought when exploring options for his charity. Dr. Jackie Noonan, Brian’s pediatric cardiologist, said that the infection that Brian fought was uniformly fatal in children before the development of antibiotics. Complications could develop, and even today there is a significant mortality from bacterial endocarditis. Noonan said that there was some concern when Brian was first admitted to the hospital, but he responded positively to medication. Noonan said that Brian was a “happy, feisty young boy” and led a lifestyle that was typically active for a child his age. Following his recovery from the heart infection, Brian showed no sign of further heart problems and did not seem to be affected by the VSD. He passed routine heart physicals and led the life of a normal teenager until he was called upon to join the Backstreet Boys, a pop-music group. In 1998, doctors noticed a slight swelling in Brian’s heart during a physical. A ventricular septal defect often closes by itself before a child reaches 18 years of age, but Brian’s did not, and surgery to repair the defect was now recommended for the 22-year-old singer. Brian successfully underwent heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic and soon after returned to touring with the Backstreet Boys. Immediately after his operation, Brian, Swinford and Noonan created the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids. The Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids is Born The Littrells knew that news of Brian’s upcoming heart surgery would generate a fair amount of publicity – and it did. Donations poured in from his loyal fans and a special charitable fund was created at the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation to accommodate the donations. The Littrell family, working with Swinford, Noonan and staff from the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, formed an advisory committee to discuss possible options for the charitable fund. “In the beginning it was Brian’s concern that there were children who needed money to pay for their heart surgeries,” Noonan said. “I reassured Jackie [Littrell, Brian’s mother] that children weren’t denied heart surgery because they didn’t have money; there was always insurance or the commission for children in each state. Fortunately, children just aren’t denied heart surgery. Besides, it’s so expensive that you’d have to have an awful lot of money to help even one person.” Instead, Swinford contacted healthcare professionals throughout the United States and suggested an educational program, the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids, to teach youngsters the benefits of heart health. The model for this program – teaching aerobic exercise, lessons in good nutrition and the dangers of certain habits like smoking – integrates education and activity, maximizing the benefits of having local nurses, doctors, physical therapists and other professionals as presenters. The “club” concept was devised as a way to give children a sense of belonging – similar to what they might experience in team sports at their schools, but without the competition, according to Brandon Edgington, the Healthy Heart Club’s coordinator. The club is open to children 8 to 13 years of age who have a cardiac condition or are at risk for heart disease, including children with congenital defects, high blood pressure and diabetes. Pediatricians refer prospective members to the club’s advisory board, which consists of doctors and nurses, who select new members for the eight-week program. A typical club meeting begins with a recap of the previous week’s lesson, a stretching exercise and isometric muscle-training exercises. After a presentation by the weekly guest on topics ranging from the food pyramid to the structure of the heart muscle, club members participate in sports and games. While the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club is the only one of its kind, Swinford and Noonan believe that the club will be successful at a national – and perhaps even an international – level because they have set the stage for healthcare professionals in other areas to model a program after the Healthy Heart Club that meets the needs of children in various regions. Meanwhile, Noonan said that the Healthy Heart Club fills a gap between what is recommended by HMOs and insurance companies and what is provided by those companies. And the club’s namesake is a fitting role model for the young club members to follow. “The insurance companies and HMOs have talked a lot about preventive medicine, but they haven’t really funded anything to prevent these problems later in life,” Noonan said. “What was needed was something for children at risk for developing heart problems later in life. Brian liked the idea, and it fit in with his goals because he’s a physical fitness buff and exercises a lot and leads an active life.” Keeping the club members’ interest is a concern, and the presenters succeed not by lecturing but by getting the children actively involved in each lesson, Edgington said. Presentations have included a special dance routine taught by the dance team instructor for the Lexington ThoroBlades hockey team, and an interactive show-and-tell in which emergency room nurses showed members how to use the tools of their trade, like stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. The success of the Healthy Heart Club is measured by the response Edgington receives from parents and club members. “I’ve had parents come up to me and say that this is the greatest thing that’s happened to their kids. It’s something that forces them to get off the couch and be more active. And you can see the parents’ concern with what happens with their kids. When they see the kids smile and have fun, they do, too,” Edgington said. Healthy Heart Club’s Namesake Leads by Example The purpose of the Healthy Heart Club reflect the active life Brian led as a typical child and later as a globe-trotting celebrity. The Littrell family plays an active role in the Healthy Heart Club – Jackie Littrell serves on the advisory committee and Brian, schedule permitting, occasionally attends club meetings. By eschewing such habits as smoking, drinking and drugs in favor of physical fitness, Swinford said that Brian played as much of a role in his heart health as did the medical community. Similarly, she said that the club could provide a support system for its members much like the one that Brian’s family provided for him. “His parents saw nothing but promise, they looked to the future,” Swinford said. “His parents were facing two paths: they could assume that their [son] was going to be someone whom they would have to shelter and protect – not allowing him to do the things that normal kids do; or they could provide for him as normal an environment as possible, which is what they did.” “But he took care of himself, too. Considering the challenges kids are up against now, he made some very wise decisions regarding his health, and that’s what we’re trying to teach the kids in the club. We show the kids that you can be cool without having to do damage to your health. He’s taken a page from his own story to tell kids to take care of themselves. Brian can tie together the challenges kids face today to staying healthy and having a fulfilling life,” Swinford said. And that, she said, is one of the goals of the Healthy Heart Club. “If you have had heart surgery or a cardiac condition or even suffer from obesity or high blood pressure, you have to [continue to] live your life to the fullest. Brian is an excellent example of that,” Swinford said. “We Want to Make a Difference” Swinford, now director of emergency services at Saint Joseph Hospital, said that the expansion of the Healthy Heart Club across the country is supported by local healthcare professionals volunteering their time and energy to help promote preventive medicine to young children. “You’d be surprised at the number of professionals right in your back yard who would love to volunteer to do something fun and different like this,” Swinford said. “We have all these great lessons to teach but in a hospital you don’t necessarily get to teach them day after day. This is something ‘outside the box.’ It’s a piece of cake. And since you’re helping children, it’s a win-win situation.” Swinford said that nurses are often unaware of the impact they have on their patients. She, for one, still seems amazed that Brian remembered her as his nurse when he was hospitalized as a young child. “When I met Brian again after years of not seeing him, I said, ‘Here’s a guy who’s met millions of people, he’s not going to remember me,’ ” Swinford recalled. “He not only remembered me, but he remembered what I used to tell my patients to put them at ease when I started their IVs.” “You never know who you’re going to meet. We see about 150 people a day, and it’s amazing that you can have an impact on them. You never think about it at the time, you think you’re just doing your job. But the patients remember what you said to them and that you helped to make their lives a little bit easier,” Swinford said. “Kids are up against so many obstacles today. I think that’s Brian’s message. He was up against a life-and-death situation and his parents didn’t roll over and say, ‘That’s it.’ They decided to do whatever they could to help – and they did it in a real simple way." “We want to make a difference in a kid’s life, and through Brian’s generosity, we can do this.” Go to http://www.healthyheartclub.org to find out more about the Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids. Or contact Brandon Edgington, Healthy Heart Club coordinator, at 859/313-2055. © 2001 NurseZone.com. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnanz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: washington dc oT0z4l Wow! This can be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We ave ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Wonderful. I am also an expert in this topic therefore I can understand your hard work. Submitted by: i love pron ZHnq9r Very good post.Much thanks again. Really Cool. 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