SickKids Innovators helping patients like Alisiya
In April, 2014, Saiful brought his daughter, Alisiya, to the emergency room at SickKids for an x-ray after complaining of leg pain. She first began to mention it in January, but as the months went on, the pain increased to the point where ibuprofen was providing no relief and she would wake up three to four times a night crying because of the pain.
As soon as they got home, they received a call saying a small tumour had been discovered. Alisiya was diagnosed with osteoid osteoma, a benign bone tumour, and told that she would soon be contacted by interventional radiologist Dr. Michael Temple.
Dr. Temple told Alisiya’s family about a new surgical procedure which uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to precisely pinpoint the tumour, which is then zapped and eliminated with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) sound waves. The treatment is completely non-invasive.
On January 14, 2015, Alisiya underwent surgery. The following morning, she was 100% better and experienced complete pain relief for the first time in a year.
“The last time she felt pain was just before her surgery,” Saiful said. “When she woke up the day after the surgery, the pain was completely gone and it hasn’t returned since.”
To understand how Magnetic resonance-guided HIFU can impact patients, the Pain Centre, in collaboration with The Centre for Image-Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention (which developed this breakthrough procedure), launched a research project that would follow patients to monitor pain after their treatment. Their research question: To test whether patients experienced a change in health-related quality of life.
For Alisiya, the impact has been a positive one.
“Donor support is important because it helps families like mine.”
“She couldn’t participate in any activities before the surgery because she was in so much pain,” said Saiful. “Every time we would go out and do things, even if it was a short trip to the mall, she was always so worried that the pain might come. She didn’t want to take part in many things because she was so scared of the pain.”
“Today, Alisiya’s life is 100% back to normal. She is busy and takes part in as many activities as she can. It almost feels like nothing had ever happened to her.”
Doctors at SickKids are amazed at Alisiya’s response to the treatment. She has had immediate and complete pain relief and her quality of life has improved drastically since the procedure.
It is thanks to the support of donors like SickKids Innovators that results like Alisiya’s are made possible. In 2013, Innovators provided seed-funding to the Pain Centre, ultimately supporting this research project. Then in 2015, they elected to provide funding to support the work of The Centre for Image-Guided Innovation and Therapeutic Intervention (CIGITI) directly.
SickKids Innovators are made up of the next generation of philanthropists, with a goal to fund the highest-priority needs of The Hospital for Sick Children. Each year, this group of philanthropists work together to raise funds in support of a specific priority at the hospital. This year, the group will focus their funding support on the Medical Psychiatry Alliance. Since the program’s inception, Innovators have donated nearly $600,000 to support the Pain Centre, The Paediatric Advanced Care Team and CIGITI.
To learn more about how you can become a SickKids Innovator, please visit our Innovators webpage.
“Seeing my child in pain was so difficult. It was SickKids that found the problem and was able to solve it,” said Saiful. “SickKids means so much to me. They took care of my family and they take care of so many families who are going through some difficult things. Kids are precious and SickKids is there to help them. Donor support is important because it helps families like mine.”
