CAM Fund Established to Advance Pediatric Neurology
In the summer of 2013, Margaret and Dan Maloney were looking forward to welcoming their third child, Charlotte, into the world. When Margaret went into labor, things seemed to be fine until the moment her obstetrician realized something had gone wrong. Margaret and Dan’s medical team began preparing them for what was to come: Charlotte would need to be transported to Children’s National immediately upon birth.
When Charlotte was born, she was not breathing, her lungs were filled with blood, and she was suffering a traumatic brain injury. Upon arriving at Children’s National, Charlotte’s care team moved rapidly to save the infant’s life. Because of her head trauma, she was placed in the hospital’s brain-cooling treatment area for three days. She lay on a water-filled cooling mattress that reduced her body temperature in an effort to protect her brain.
“Brain injuries are the leading cause of brain damage and one of the leading causes of death and disabilities in children,” said Taeun Chang, MD, Charlotte’s doctor and director of the neonatal neurology program. “Studies have shown that therapeutic hypothermia [brain cooling] can mitigate damage if done in the first six hours of life. So that is what we did to help Charlotte—to save her life.”
Two years later, Charlotte is thriving today. The Maloney family is so grateful that they have given back by establishing the Charlotte A. Maloney (CAM) Fund to support Dr. Chang’s work in neonatal brain protection. They have helped raise more $30,000 to date.
Margaret said, “We recognize that while our little girl was lucky enough to receive life-saving medical care from Children’s National, not every child is so fortunate. We want more children to have access to this care and recognize that philanthropy is the key. The CAM Fund represents our hope for babies born like Charlotte so that they too can go on to live healthy, happy lives.”