'Boston Med' Follows Medical Trials Of Derry Child

[okarol]

'Boston Med' Follows Medical Trials Of Derry Child
Girl Flown To Children's Hospital With Life-Threatening Condition

UPDATED: 11:40 pm EDT August 5, 2010
DERRY, N.H. -- A Derry girl dealing with a life-threatening medical event was featured on the ABC show "Boston Med" on Thursday night.

Camera crews were there as a helicopter carrying 5-year-old Caitlyn MacPhee touched down at Boston Children's Hospital in March 2009. The flight took eight minutes to carry Caitlyn and her mother, Melissa MacPhee, to the hospital from Derry.

Caitlyn was unconscious, and her mother didn't know what was going on.

"She's got blood in her brain and they don't know why," Melissa MacPhee said. "This little girl has been through a lot."

For the next 48 days, cameras would follow the MacPhees as their daughter received treatment at the hospital.

"It's tough to sit there with cameras in your face, especially when you're emotional," said Caitlyn's father, Vernon MacPhee.

Caitlyn's father drove to the hospital that night. Melissa MacPhee said she didn't expect to see the cameras when the helicopter she was in landed.

"They're (saying) real quickly, 'We're doing a documentary. Would you mind us taping you?'" she said. "And at that point, I'm frazzled, and I'm like, 'Sure.'"

Doctors determined that Caitlyn had suffered a stroke that paralyzed her right side, compromising an already fragile body. She has nephrotic syndrome, which caused her kidneys to fail the year before.

"Boston Med" chronicled Caitlyn's treatments and the stress her parents endured until their daughter was released. More than a year after the hospital trip, the family said life has returned to a new normal in their home.

Caitlyn can only use half of her body, and Melissa MacPhee said she has mastered being a mother and 24-hour nurse. Every day, Caitlyn undergoes 12 hours of dialysis on her princess bed in her parents' bedroom.

Vernon MacPhee's sister plans to donate a kidney to Caitlyn, so the dialysis may soon stop. But they said there's no end to the astronomical medical bills.

"The bills are over $300,000, and there's still a transplant to come," Vernon MacPhee said.

He said his decision to open up his family's struggle for the nation to see was to help Boston Children's Hospital and, in turn, his own child.

"That was my first thought," he said. "There was, well, this is a hospital my daughter has to go to for the rest of her life. If I can help them, then what the heck? Tape it."

For Melissa MacPhee, agreeing to let her most raw and honest moments be broadcast came from the desire to send parents an important message.

"I guess I just wanted people to love their children, appreciate what they have and not take things for granted," she said.

After Caitlyn's kidney transplant, her parents said they hope to be able to buy a specialized wheelchair that will allow her to begin the first grade.

Caitlyn's family has set up a fund for anyone interested in helping them cover their medical bills. Donation information can be found on the family's website.

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[Beth35]

I watched that episode last night and it was very emotional.  It was very scary to see such a small child go through that while her parents were there praying she would live.  As a parent, I felt sick imagining what they must have been going through.