Decorating children's space, Las Vegas Review Journal

https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/home-and-garden/70s-are-back-in-childrens-decor/ ’70s are back in children’s decor By Lisa Ferguson Special to Your Home January 13, 2018 - 8:05 am When it comes to pushing the interior design envelope, few spaces in most homes are better suited to receive bright and bold colors, patterns, furniture and accessories than a child’s bedroom. “(Kids) might be in this room for a certain number of hours each day, but their imagination should be able to travel freely” while they are there, said Justina Blakeney, whose bohemian-style, hand-drawn designs are the hallmark of her lifestyle brand, Jungalow. Los Angeles-based Blakeney maintains a wildly popular decorating blog on her website Jungalow.com and boasts a sizable social media following. She has authored a pair of books that provide inspiring ideas and tips for achieving her signature boho-chic style at home, including “The New Bohemians Handbook: Come Home to Good Vibes” (Abrams Books), which was published last fall. Her ever-growing product line is varied — from sofas and chairs to rugs and planters, and even wrapping paper and yoga wear — and is sold online as well as in stores, including Target, Living Spaces and West Elm. Add Pottery Barn Kids to that list. In December, the company began peddling a line of Blakeney-designed bedding, furniture, accessories and gift items for children age newborn through preteen. Pieces range in price from less than $20 for a pillowcase to nearly $1,400 for a twin-size bed. The line includes the same sort of mix-and-match, botanical-heavy prints as the wares she creates for adults, but with a more kid-friendly feel. “My style is so whimsical and colorful, and I incorporate a lot of animals and plants and stuff already. I almost didn’t have to change my style at all,” the 38-year-old Blakeney said recently. For the Pottery Barn Kids line, “it was more about putting things together in a slightly different way, with kids in mind.” Even if youngsters don’t always understand or appreciate the white-hot bohemian aesthetic. “I definitely don’t think they get it in the same way that (adults) get it,” she said. Rather, kids “innately have a personal style, and I think things get sort of formulated more concretely as they grow,” she explained. “But I think that untamedness and that wild side and that unbridled creativity is already there in children.” Blakeney said she hopes the items and spaces she designs for little ones “help to enhance and inspire that creativity.” Her outer space-themed Astronomad collection for Pottery Barn Kids bursts with primary-colored planets and rainbows. Coordinating wallpaper is laden with scads of stars and pairs perfectly with a massive moonscape-textured, wall-mounted lamp that is also available. “It’s that sense of wonder and … exploring the Earth and beyond that I tried to capture,” she said. Meanwhile, Magic Disco Caravan has “sort of this nomadic, Burning Man festival vibe, which I think transcends all ages,” she said. “It’s that feeling of, like, we’re all out in the desert … and we’re dancing, and there’s an infinite amount of stars, and just this feeling of a big party where everyone gets to tap into who they truly are.” Both the Jungalino Nursery and Jungalino Room collections include white quilts adorned with teal palm fronds and sheets printed with fanciful tigers and elephants. The hand-drawn characters featured in an accompanying wall mural are directly inspired by stories about the Glump Glump Forest, a mythical land concocted by Blakeney and her 5-year-old daughter, Ida, who also helped to name pieces for the Pottery Barn Kids line. “I feel like more than a stripe or polka dot could ever do, having these characters that aren’t known characters … really can inspire kids to come up with their own ideas and their own stories,” Blakeney said. “It is really what I hope people get out of this collection.” When decorating a child’s room, parents shouldn’t be afraid to mix things up. “This is a time where you can really have fun and experiment and go a little wild with your kids’ rooms, so I say go for it,” she said. “They’re only little for such a short amount of time.” Blakeney also advises parents to purchase quality furniture and bedding pieces. “When it comes to stuff for kids, they grow out of things so quickly, so you get tempted to buy cheaper stuff or things that won’t last as long,” she said. The items in her collections are designed “to kind of grow with the child, so there’s a non-throw-away element” to them, which also makes them suitable for handing down to other family members. With kids, comfort is key. Blakeney said she thought a lot about the tactile elements of children’s rooms while designing the collection. “The rugs are really plushy, because I know my daughter likes to dig her fingers in and roll around and do gymnastics and be a little wild on the rugs and floors. I think things that have fun textures are really important.” Also, don’t overlook the benefits of fun lighting, she said. “Things that glow in the dark or things that sparkle do create that sense of wonder … and also can help with bedtime” rituals. Jannicke Ramso, owner of the full-service Las Vegas design firm Tiny Little Pads, agrees. Lighting “is so important, but kids don’t realize it,” she said. Parents may wish to equip fixtures in children’s rooms with dimmer switches. “If you’re playing, you need a lot of light. If you’re napping, you barely need light. And at night, it all changes.” Ramso designs high-end nurseries as well as bedrooms, playhouses and play spaces for infants through preteens. (As part of her company’s services, she also plans parties and other events for youngsters.) Before beginning an interior design project, she tries to meet with parents and kids in person or via FaceTime or Skype to learn more about them and gather their suggestions for the space. “Designing is creativity, and that’s what kids are all about. They are so inspirational,” Ramso said. “You just have to present it to them in the right way — that we are creating something — and get their ideas.” It is important for a child’s room to reflect “the uniqueness of the kid, whatever that is,” she explained. “What are they into? What do they like? What makes them happy?” A child’s bedroom design “is a part of how they grow up and how they’re influenced — how they keep it tidy, how they keep it messy,” Ramso said. “All of these things reflect their personality and their changing world as they grow.” Ramso’s background is in hospitality design. A firm for which she previously worked designed award-winning interiors at Strip casinos, including the Encore, as well as nightclubs, bars, restaurants, retail spaces and spas locally and around the world. A mother of two children (her third child is due this spring), she said the muted colors and the butterfly-adorned upholstered wall that were in her eldest daughter’s nursery were inspired by Encore designs. For the room’s chandeliered ceiling, she created a multicolored, faux-carousel canopy that paid homage to the Parasol Down lounge at Wynn Las Vegas. The ceiling of a child’s room is “a blank canvas” that often goes overlooked, Ramso said. “Babies and kids spend a lot of time in bed. It’s another outlet for something fun and to be creative.” She also enjoys mixing modern pieces with vintage accessories in nurseries and children’s rooms. “That goes back to the (child’s) uniqueness. … It’s not just about going out to stores and buying brand-new everything,” Ramso said. “We all have a story. A baby doesn’t have a story yet, but there are always pieces that have been in the family, and there is a story behind them. I always like to incorporate that into a design.” ADVERTISING

Learning Through Letters - Preston Hollow People

Learning Through Letters by Lisa Ferguson · April 2, 2017 Second-grade pen pals from Walnut Hill Elementary and Lamplighter School get to know each other in person after exchanging monthly hand-written letters. Less than 3 miles separate Walnut Hill Elementary School and The Lamplighter School, but it’s far enough to keep students from knowing each other if not for an old-fashioned exercise in communication. Since last fall, dozens of second-grade students from both schools have been communicating with one another via handwritten letters that they exchange monthly to learn more about their daily lives and interests. The pen pal exercise is one facet of ongoing literacy-building efforts happening at the campuses, courtesy of United 2 Learn, an action network of the Commit! 2 Dallas Partnership, which works to create educational and leadership opportunities for local students. Walnut Hill, a century-old Dallas ISD public school, and Lamplighter, a private school, have both participated in the Commit! partnership for several years, through which Lamplighter has donated books and money to Walnut Hill, explained Vicki Raney, assistant head of academics at Lamplighter. “We had been giving them things, but it was sort of a one-way relationship,” she said. Second-graders last year had also exchanged pen pal letters, but on an infrequent basis. Letter writing is a good way to teach youngsters how to write “for purpose,” Raney said. “Second grade is really the time to learn the format [of a personal letter] — the date and ‘Dear So and So,’ and the closing.” While it may be more convenient these days to send a quick email or text, she said having students craft missives in longhand “really increases their literacy skills” by encouraging them to “design what they want to say.” Walnut Hill Elementary Principal R. Chase McLaurin called letter writing a lost art. “It’s something that’s unique for the kids to actually experience that.” Last fall, school administrators at both campuses decided to ramp up the students’ interactions. In October, Lamplighter invited Walnut Hill’s second-graders to its campus to attend an assembly featuring Matt de la Peña, author of the Newbery Medal-winning children’s book Last Stop on Market Street. The students “sat and read the book, and they talked, and we had some literacy activities,” Raney recalled. It was the first opportunity they’d had to meet their pen pals, with whom they’d been randomly matched. “You couldn’t tell the difference between the kids. Private school [or] public school — they all looked alike,” she said. “They all had fun. They were all reading.” Since students have been able to put faces to their pen pals’ names, their letters have lengthened and developed in content in recent months. “We want them to kind of think outside the box,” explained Lamplighter teacher Lakeshia Peters, “not just to ask, `What did you do this weekend?’ but to get to know this person — how many children are in their family, what does a family vacation look like for them. … We know that’s different for everybody.” McLaurin said, “The writing that they’re sending back and forth to one another has remarkably improved because they … have a real relationship to talk about.” In January, Lamplighter’s second-graders boarded DART buses and rode to Walnut Hill, where they participated in additional literacy activities and received a campus tour. “Even though we’re just another school, to them this was exciting,” McLaurin said. “This is a place they had never been before.” That same month, the second-grade teachers from both schools met at Lamplighter to kick off a partnership of their own that includes an ongoing exchange of curriculum ideas and learning strategies for the students. After learning that cursive writing is taught at Lamplighter, longtime Walnut Hill teacher Diane James said she and her colleagues may soon add it to their own lesson plans. “I think it’s good to share ideas and hear what other [educators] are doing,” she said. Abigail Williams, executive director of United 2 Learn, said the partnership between Lamplighter and Walnut Hill is a shining example of why the organization was founded. “We all have something to learn from each other, to gain from each other,” she said, “and we all need to be invested in public education in our city, in our community.” Raney said she and McLaurin are “just thrilled” about what has transpired between their schools, students, and teachers, and plan to further expand their interaction with additional field trips and, of course, more letter writing. “These kids know each other,” she said, “and we want to continue the relationship these kids have.”

Williams Elementary School Sounding Better to Students - Preston Hollow People

Williams Elementary School Sounding Better to Students by Lisa Ferguson · April 23, 2017 The halls at Sudie L. Williams Elementary School echo with the familiar sounds of teachers explaining lessons and students answering queries. However, it is only because of the school’s unique Oral Deaf Education program that dozens of students on campus are able to hear those questions at all. Williams has long served students with auditory impairments in kindergarten through fifth grade. It is the only school in Dallas ISD that utilizes additional teachers and special technology to improve students’ access to grade-specific curriculum and instruction. Students with a range of issues, including physical deformities that affect their ability to hear, travel to Williams daily from throughout the district and as far away as Farmers Branch and Carrolton to attend the school. “We service a special population, because we have the special tools to do so, but all kids are special,” said Principal Michael Jackson. Beginning last year, a greater emphasis has been placed on including auditory-impaired students in more general education programs at the school, rather than routinely pulling them from classes to receive specialized instruction in reading, he said. Each classroom at Williams is helmed by a pair of teachers — a general education and a special education instructor — who teach in tandem. They also don personal frequency modulation systems that use radio waves to deliver speech signals to students who wear hearing aids and cochlear implants. The technology, which syncs with the students’ hearing devices, provides students better access to sound and allows them to use their listening and speaking skills rather than sign language when interacting with each other and their teachers. As a result, most of the school’s 40 auditory-impaired students are able to participate in a typical classroom setting alongside their 200-plus hearing classmates. “We really do try to urge an inclusive environment, so the kids are getting on-grade-level instruction just like their peers are,” Jackson said. It can be difficult for some students who experienced a delay in being identified as having auditory issues early in their lives or academic careers to adjust. “They have had to make it the best way that they could with the tools that they had, so they read lips, and they’ll come up with ways to make it,” he explained. Now, he said, it’s up to the teachers at Williams to use “diverse instructional strategies in order to bring those kids into the fold of understanding.” The Oral Deaf Education program is “driven by teachers who are super passionate” about giving the students “not only access to instructional material, but also to self-advocacy,” Jackson said. For example, students are responsible for keeping track of and maintaining their own hearing devices. (Photo: Tanner Garza) (Photo: Tanner Garza) “You have to make sure that you wear it every day, check your batteries and all that,” explained fifth-grader Aaron Caracheo, who transferred to Williams last year from another school. Jackson said all of the students on campus take the Oral Deaf Education program seriously. “If a child loses a hearing aid, everybody is scrambling to find it,” he explained. “Think about the level of consciousness the students have to have. They’re not just thinking about themselves. They know that a student won’t have as much access to [instruction] because they don’t have a hearing aid.” With the help of technology, 10-year-old Carecheo said he can better hear the teacher than at his previous school, where “it was tricky. … I had to ask the teacher again and again if she could repeat” information. Special education teacher Molly Browning said Williams’ auditory-impaired students “are being pushed more. We are not pulling them out [of class]. We’re not saying, `You can’t do this.’ We’re saying, `You can do this, we’re gonna help.’ ” Jackson agrees. “We push these kids as hard as we push everybody else. There’s no differentiation in terms of what the expectations are. And they rise up to the challenge. It’s pretty awesome.”

Shakespeare Camp - Preston Hollow People

Get Thee To Camp Shakespeare by Lisa Ferguson · April 29, 2017 Campers will learn stage fighting, acting, auditioning, and other skills. Sessions end with Shakespeare performances. (Courtesy Shakespeare Dallas) Not every child wants to spend summer break studying the works of William Shakespeare. But those who do often surprise Julie Osborne-Watts. “Shockingly, [it is] a lot of different kids,” said Osborne-Watts, education and outreach manager for Shakespeare Dallas, which draws youths ages 2-12 from varied backgrounds and interests to participate each year in its Camp Shakespeare program. Since 2015, the program has used some of The Bard’s most famous plays to teach theater arts to students. About 50 students are expected to attend this year’s pair of day-camp sessions, scheduled June 19-30 and July 10-14 at the Covenant School of Dallas. While some students who attend are aspiring thespians, others “have never seen a play in their life, have never acted in a play,” Osborne-Watts said. Many would-be campers learn about Camp Shakespeare when adult actors from Shakespeare Dallas’ touring productions perform at area schools as part of the nonprofit organization’s educational programming. “We talk to the kids all the time about how The Lion King is based on Hamlet, and how in tons of Disney movies you see references to Shakespeare,” she said. “We try to … let them know that Shakespeare really has impacted the society that we live in and the world that we live in.” That includes language. While adults can be intimidated by Shakespeare’s words, Osborne-Watts said children tend not to balk at them. “They haven’t learned to fear the language, so to them it’s not a scary thing. They really embrace the language. It’s easy for them to pick up and learn.” This summer, students in grades 2-6 will participate in a program called All the World’s a Stage. They’ll learn acting basics, including vocal and improvisation skills, while portraying characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In July, as part of the Midsummer Madness camp, the young children and tweens will receive instruction in the art of stage combat when they suit up in fencing gear and battle each other using foils. “It’s a really fun experience for the kids,” Osborne-Watts said, adding that stage combat is present throughout Shakespeare’s plays. “It’s a great way for those who want to continue on in performing to get a start with that.” (Courtesy Shakespeare Dallas) (Courtesy Shakespeare Dallas) Students in grades 7-12 enrolled in The Play’s the Thing camp will participate in an in-depth study of Twelfth Night as they pare down the five-act piece to just one act. “It definitely is a big undertaking,” Osborne-Watts said. Twelfth Night was selected because it touches on the hot topic of bullying, she said. “We wanted to talk about that and focus on that. It’s also a fun comedy, so that’s another way to engage students through laughter.” What Dreams May Come camp is designed for tweens and teens who want to pursue stage acting in high school and college productions, or possibly as a profession. Auditioning for theater productions “is not an easy skill,” she said. “It’s definitely a learned skill, and it’s very different than acting, so we try to help them out and give them some hands-on skills and tools that they can use.” Each Camp Shakespeare session concludes with a performance for the players’ parents at Samuell Grand Amphitheater. Besides providing an unusual summertime activity, the camp may also prove academically beneficial, Osborne-Watts said. “We try to tell parents when you give students artistic opportunities … the test scores get better, grades get better.” Acting can also help boost kids’ self-confidence while encouraging them to think creatively and reinforcing the importance of teamwork. Last summer, she said, “We had several students who, on the first day, were afraid to open their mouths. The idea of getting on a stage in front of other people was terrifying to them. By the end they were saying, ‘I want to be an actor when I grow up.’” (Courtesy Shakespeare Dallas)

Eva Brandys - Preston Hollow People

Polish Pianist Promises Personal Performance by Lisa Ferguson · May 15, 2017 As owner of Park Cities School of Music, 41-year-old Eva Brandys can’t imagine subjecting her students to the sort of rigid and rigorous practice regimen she endured as a child studying piano in communist-era Poland. She began playing at age 8 under the tutelage of a professor who often hit her hands as a form of discipline. Another “yelled and screamed and swore at me,” she recalled. “The vocabulary he was using I probably should not have heard at my age.” Brandys would practice for up to a dozen hours each day, sometimes until her fingers bled from exposure to the cold temperatures inside the aged building’s unheated classrooms. To combat the chill, she’d dangle her hands above steaming cups of tea stationed at both ends of the keyboard. “You just had to grow a thick skin,” she explained. “No one cared that you cried.” Yet Brandys credited that tough training for helping her achieve the success she enjoys today as an accomplished musician who has performed around the world, as well as her triumphs as a businesswoman. On June 4, Brandys will co-headline the Polish Crossroads Piano Concert at Sammons Center for the Arts. The homage to Polish folk music will also feature Poland native Liam Furdyna. The Dallas-based pianist will play a concerto by Frederic Chopin, as well as an original piece penned by Brandys that the two will perform together. Violinist Mark Landson, founder and director of the Open Classical performing arts organization in Dallas, will also take the stage. “It’s the music of native people,” Brandys explained. In Poland and throughout Europe, “People from the villages and from the countryside have their own type of music and melodies that are very recognizable.” Brandys grew up not far from Krakow, Poland. In 1997, years after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, she received a full scholarship to study music at Dallas Baptist University. Following graduation, she attended SMU and earned a master’s degree in music pedagogy and education. For a while she worked at Dallas/Music, a school formerly located in Snider Plaza, where she learned about the business side of music. From there, she decided to open her own performing arts schools. In 2010, Brandys founded Park Cities School of Music on Inwood Road. These days, she spends most of her time there as a music mentor for teachers and students. Nearly a year ago, she co-founded and became director of Lakewood Conservatory of Fine Arts on Gaston Avenue. Her business endeavors do not come without challenges. Teaching music to today’s technology-obsessed kids is particularly trying, she said. “Here, suddenly instead of looking at a computer screen, you’re looking at the old-fashioned sheet of music, and you have to create a sound. It’s actually something that if you don’t play the keys in a certain way, it will sound bad … so it’s really interesting how it needs to be taught.” Her primary focus at both schools, she said, is “making sure … [students] understand that making music and creating the sound is more than playing notes. It’s actually within you not to be afraid to show those emotions, not to be afraid to express yourself.” Brandys practices what she preaches. “Whenever I write something, it’s something personal — almost like a biography, but it’s in music. Instead of words, you have notes,” she explained. Late last year she released her first album, self-titled Eva, which she will perform at the Polish Crossroads concert. One of the tunes, called Far Away, was penned shortly after she arrived in North Texas. “I had just come to this country and I was extremely homesick, and [the song] was inspired by that,” she recalled. “I was imagining myself landing back in Krakow and just seeing the landscape.” Brandys’ music is “emotionally charged because it is written from the heart based on my experiences,” she said. It has even brought tears to the eyes of audience members at some of her performances. “It’s just the most touching thing ever to see that.”

How Does Sudie L. Williams’ Garden Grow? - Preston Hollow People

How Does Sudie L. Williams’ Garden Grow? by Lisa Ferguson · May 24, 2017 Students are growing lettuce, squash, corn, herbs, and other crops. (Photo: Tanner Garza) At Sudie L. Williams Elementary School, sounds of chickens clucking compete with those of children romping on the playground. A sizeable coop tucked beside the school building holds nine-egg laying hens with names such as Curly Toes, Pepper, and Cruella de Vil. The sturdy structure is part of a large educational garden, complete with several raised planter beds and a covered outdoor classroom. Students and teachers make daily visits to tend to an array of flowering plants, vegetables, and herbs grown there, and to care for the chickens as part of lessons in science, math, reading, and language arts. “They can apply almost every subject out here,” explained William Gatlin, a fifth-grade teacher at Williams who manages the garden. With help from other teachers, students, and parents, he also waters, plants, and feeds the hens on weekends and school breaks. Students “love the chickens because they can come out and talk to them,” and give their feathered friends mealworms as snacks, Gatlin said. “They’re learning responsibility. It’s teaching them to resolve issues, to work things out, to work together.” The same applies to time spent in the organic garden, which was established in 2015 with a grant from REAL School Gardens. The organization, which has offices in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, designs and builds educational gardens at low-income schools to boost student engagement and academic achievement. With additional funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, an open grass field on the Williams campus was transformed into the garden, which was largely designed by the school’s then-fourth-grade students. “They left us with onions and potatoes, and that’s what we started with,” Gatlin said of the garden’s earliest crops. These days, students also grow lettuce, cabbage, squash, corn, jalapeños, bell peppers, and a variety of herbs, including spearmint, rosemary, Mexican sage, and garlic chives. And students can sample most of the food they harvest. “It’s amazing how many of the kids will actually try [the produce] even though they know they probably won’t like it,” Gatlin said. “I’ve seen kids … who say they don’t like tomatoes, but we’re like, `Try it,’ and they’re like, `It’s not so bad.’ ” Potatoes have proven to be a particularly successful crop for the students. Last year, they donated 17 pounds of spuds to local churches. In the future, Gatlin hopes produce from the garden will make its way into meals in the school’s cafeteria. “My goal is to take what we grow and move it inside,” he said. The garden also features compost and rainwater collection bins, a tool shed, a pair of fruit trees, a wildflower garden, and a trickling pond. Because of the milkweed plants, which are critical to monarch butterflies, the space has been registered as a waystation for the winged creatures that migrate through Texas twice annually. “The kids will watch the bees work, and they’ll talk about pollination,” Gatlin said. Having learned about scientific processes indoors, “They’re able to apply it in the garden. It’s amazing how it just happens on its own.” (Photo: Tanner Garza) For many Williams students living in apartments, the school garden is as close as they get to having a backyard of their own. “This is the only chance for them to actually see where food comes from,” Gatlin explained. “When they first saw a potato pop out of the ground, they were like, `What is that?’ … It really amazes them to see their plants grow.” Principal Michael Jackson grew up in the neighborhood. “It really is a situation where kids don’t have a yard to play in,” he said. By tending the garden, “They get to see things grow, and that’s cool, because they’re our little seedlings.”

Girl hopes for better birthdays - Park Cities People

Girl Hopes for Better Birthdays by Lisa Ferguson · May 25, 2017 Diyaa Shah was taken by ambulance to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas on June 2, 2016, where she spent the night in the ICU being poked and prodded while undergoing a battery of emergency tests. It also happened to be her 11th birthday. A couple of days later, the University Park girl and her family learned she had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. “I didn’t look scared, but on the inside I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have cancer,’ so I was scared,” Diyaa (pronounced Dee-ya) recalled. So began the tween’s yearlong cancer battle, which included numerous rounds of chemotherapy and several hospitalizations for related ailments, like her serious bout last fall with lung infections and acute heart failure. “She was critically sick,” explained her mother Kejal. “To be honest, we didn’t know if she was going to make it.” Since that lengthy hospital stay, Diyaa has for the most part been on the road to recovery as her cancer has gone into remission. Earlier this year she was selected to participate in the 29th annual Children’s Cancer Fund Gala (CCF), a fundraiser for pediatric oncology research and treatment programs, held in April at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. The event featured live and silent auctions, as well as a children’s fashion show. More than $1 million was raised for the organization. Diyaa and 15 other young cancer patients served as runway models during the fashion show. She was outfitted head-to-toe in fancy clothing and shoes, with professionally styled makeup and nails, before she was escorted to the catwalk by radio and television personality Amy Vanderoef. “Once I got onstage I felt more comfortable,” Diyaa said of her time in the spotlight. Executive director of development for CCF Jennifer Arthur said, “There are so many amazing children that we have an opportunity to serve, and Diyaa is definitely one of our shining stars, so we were thrilled to invite her to walk the runway.” At the event, Diyaa also rubbed elbows with Dallas Cowboys legends Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, who served as honorary chairmen. In advance of the gala, she and Aikman were featured together on CCF billboards throughout Dallas. Meeting other children with cancer at the gala was a good experience for Diyaa, her mother said. “With childhood cancer you realize, once your child has it, it’s not that uncommon.” Kejal and her husband, Rinoo, are both doctors. Despite that, neither recognized that their daughter was ill until Diyaa’s grandfather, a New Jersey pediatrician, noticed during his visit for her birthday that she looked pale. “He realized that something was not right,” Kejal recalled. He immediately ordered blood tests for Diyaa, which revealed that she was severely anemic. Following a trip to a local emergency room, Diyaa was transferred to Children’s Medical Center’s ICU and underwent extensive blood testing and a bone marrow biopsy before being diagnosed with ALL, the most common type of childhood cancer. It has about a 90 percent cure rate. Her chemotherapy treatments began soon after and went well for a couple of months, Kejal said, until Diyaa experienced severe complications beginning in September. During a six-week hospital stay, she was put on a ventilator to breathe and took a pair of medications that maintained her blood pressure. “I was really scared. I would cry. I would want my mom and dad to be there all night, so it was hard,” Diyaa said. “We just prayed,” Kejal recalled. “And she fought it.” As a sixth-grader at McCulloch Intermediate School, Diyaa kept up with schoolwork throughout her treatment through Highland Park ISD’s Homebound Program. “I didn’t want to [have to] stay back a grade,” she said. Diyaa is looking forward to starting seventh grade in the fall at Highland Park Middle School. But before school starts, she is planning a big celebration for her 12th birthday, which this year will hopefully take place away from the hospital. “I want to have a party … with seven of my good friends,” Diyaa said, “And I also want to celebrate it with my family and go out to dinner.”

Dallas mandates pet microchipping - Park Cities Peoplr

Dallas Mandates Pet Microchipping by Lisa Ferguson · August 31, 2017 Candy Evans knows firsthand the heartbreak that can result when a family pet goes missing. The longtime Preston Hollow resident remembered feeling distraught when, more than two decades ago, her dog Buffy, a golden retriever-Irish setter mix, escaped from home. “We thought she was gone” for good, Evans recalled. However, days later, she received a phone call from someone who had found the dog miles away in Carrollton and used information from its registration tags to reunite the pooch and her owner. Back then, pet identification in the form of microchips did not yet exist. In the years since, Evans has made it a point to have each dog she has owned outfitted with the devices. “I’d microchip my grandchildren if I could,” she joked. In June, Dallas City Council enacted an ordinance that mandates microchipping for all dogs and cats 4 months of age and older. About the size of a grain of rice, microchips are injected beneath animals’ skin. When scanned with a special reader, they reveal a code belonging to one of several companies that maintain national databases and store pet owners’ contact information. The city’s microchipping ordinance replaces the requirement for pet owners to register their four-legged friends annually. Those who registered or renewed a registration within the past year are not required to have their pets chipped until the registration expires. “We had low compliance with the registration. It really wasn’t doing what was intended,” said Gabrielle Vannini, spokesperson for Dallas Animal Services, which implants microchips for $15. They are also administered at private veterinary offices, which typically charge around $50. In 2016, DAS microchipped 12,113 animals that were either adopted from its shelter on North Westmoreland Road or brought to the facility by their owners to undergo the procedure. Between January and early August of this year, it chipped 9,176 animals. Besides assisting DAS in identifying animals that arrive at the shelter, Vannini said mandatory microchipping may also help alleviate the loose-dog epidemic that plagues some parts of the city, particularly South Dallas, where thousands of canines reportedly roam neighborhood streets. “There’s obviously not one thing that’s going to solve a loose-dog problem, but this is something that I think is going to really help,” she said. The ordinance will be enforced when a pet is caught by animal-control officers on city streets and is impounded. “If your dog comes in [to the shelter] and it’s not chipped, you will be cited and fined for that,” she explained, adding that penalties will be determined by a judge. North Dallas has not experienced a problem with numerous stray dogs inhabiting area streets. “I think a lot of the dogs you’re going to be seeing out there tend to be owned,” Vannini said, “so having a microchip and being able to get them back to their owner, and educate their owner on ways to keep the dog inside and not roaming, are going to be the positive effects.” Dr. Mike Escobedo of Cornerstone Animal Clinic said he has not experienced an uptick in requests for microchips since the ordinance went into effect, likely because more than 75 percent of his four-legged patients already have them. “These are responsible pet owners and they’re going to do it if we recommend it,” which doctors at the Preston Road clinic have done for years, he explained. “At our practice, we’re very lucky. We’re going into [exam] rooms and doing annuals [examinations] and talking to owners and finding out, ‘Oh, you’re already microchipped.’”

Filling in the gaps - Frisco Style magazine

Filling in the Gaps By Lisa Ferguson - October 1, 2017 The thought of a trip to the dentist’s office can send some people into a panic. Maybe it is the ominous whirring sound of the drill or the sight of sharp, pointy probes that puts them on edge. It may help ease petrified patients’ nerves to learn that dental professionals are, by and large, an empathetic lot. Many donate their time and expertise to help those in need by volunteering with charitable organizations in their communities and throughout the world. A past president of the North Texas Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Donald Nix, D.D.S. opened his practice in 1984. “I enjoy the challenges of surgery, the intricacies of surgery and doing a good job,” the longtime Frisco resident shares. “When the patient is pleased with the result and they are happy they came to you, that is very rewarding.” Also rewarding, he says, is the charitable work he has performed throughout his career, which has included traveling on a dozen medical mission trips to countries including Russia, India, Mexico, Guatemala and Panama to provide much-needed dental care to impoverished residents. “They are so overwhelmed by your generosity … they just cannot express their gratitude enough,” he shares. Earlier this year, he traveled to Jamaica to perform surgeries, accompanied by his registered nurse and wife, Cathy. While there, he mentored a group of students from the Baylor University College of Dentistry in Dallas. For more than a decade, Dr. Nix has volunteered his time with and been a major sponsor of the Smiles Charity. Founded by McKinney orthodontist, Dr. Jennifer Buchanan, the organization builds homes for wounded military veterans and their families. With Dr. Nix’s support, Smiles Charity has funded a dozen homes for deserving families. “We could not make the dream of home ownership a reality for our veterans without his help,” Dr. Buchanan shares. She added that, over the years, Dr. Nix has also donated his oral surgery skills to veterans in need. For several years, Smiles Charity partnered with Habitat for Humanity to complete the abodes. Dr. Nix swung hammers and assisted with other construction-related duties at home sites. “It is a tremendous organization,” he says. “It is just wonderful to be able to give to these veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.” As the son of one of the first orthodontists to practice in Dallas during the 1950s, John Wise, D.D.S., continued his family’s tradition when he opened his own practice, Wise Orthodontics, in Frisco in 1992. Having formerly served as president of the North Texas Dental Society, as well as the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Wise is accustomed to giving back to the community. In 2001, he co-founded and for five years chaired the Rite to Smile Foundation, which raises funds to improve dental care access for members of underserved populations throughout the area. He also previously co-chaired the Texas chapter of Smiles Change Lives, a national foundation for orthodontists to volunteer their time and facilities and provide services at discounted rates to qualified children whose families cannot otherwise afford it. “We just want to eliminate as many barriers as we can to getting this life-changing care,” he explains, adding that he treats several pro bono patients annually through the foundation. Also in 2001, Dr. Wise joined the Texas Dental Association’s Smile Foundation and later served on the board of the organization, which operates the Mission of Mercy mobile clinic that provides free basic dental care throughout the state to people with limited resources. Two years later, he helped found the North Texas Dental Society’s Give Kids a Smile Day, an offshoot of a national program sponsored by the American Dental Association. Locally, the annual event provides more than 100 needy children with dental screenings, X-rays, cleanings and treatments that are performed by professionals who volunteer their time and services. Dr. Wise says about his view on charitable work, “A lot has been given to me, and I see the need for these things. It is really uplifting, almost a spiritual type of feeling you get by helping these people who do not expect it.” Going on a two-year church mission trip to Spain during college cemented in Jared K. Corbridge, D.D.S., the principle of service to others. “I feel like I learned to love people from all different backgrounds, situations, viewpoints — everything,” he shares. A magna cum laude graduate of Brigham Young University, he attended the University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry before moving with his family to Dallas in 2007 to study orthodontics at Baylor’s College of Dentistry. He opened his practice four years later. Dr. Corbridge is a member of both the American Dental Association and the American Association of Orthodontists. For several years, he has volunteered his services for the North Texas Dental Society’s Give Kids a Smile Day. A few years ago, during the event, he examined a teenage patient who attended with her mother. Fluent in Spanish, as a result of his mission trip, he bonded with the bilingual teen and ended up offering her orthodontic services free of charge. “Their eyes welled up,” he recalls. “You just get the chills and you think, ‘Man, it is so cool that I get to do this.’” Corbridge Orthodontics hosts an annual food drive benefitting Frisco Family Services. Each fall, the practice sponsors a pumpkin-decorating contest, during which the doctor challenges other local dental professionals to adorn pumpkins that are donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, which tends to families of seriously ill and injured children as they undergo medical treatment. “That is a fun thing we do,” Dr. Corbridge shares. “That is how service is. They call it a sacrifice, but you definitely get the blessing from it.” After graduating in 1988 from the Institute of Health Sciences in Colombia, Margarita Correa, D.D.S., worked for more than a decade as a dentist in Medellin, the nation’s second-largest city, before relocating to the U.S. in 2000. She earned her dental surgery degree through the International Dentist Program at California’s Loma Linda University before moving to North Texas in 2007. Two years later, she opened her practice, Prisma Dental, located near Toyota Stadium. Dr. Correa, a lifelong fan of soccer, soon began treating some of the players and eventually became FC Dallas’ dentist. As a member of the Illinois-based Academy for Sports Dentistry, she also belongs to the recently-formed Association of Dentists for Professional Soccer, which works to improve the quality of treatment received by professional Major League Soccer players. In 2008, she became a founding board member of the North Texas chapter of the Hispanic Dental Association, which awards scholarships to local students and raises funds to provide dental services for members of local Hispanic communities in need. As head of the chapter’s social committee, four years ago, she created the annual Soccer Smiles Tournament. The event raises funds to help low-income families receive preventative dental care, education and treatments. About 40 children (many of them from needy families) and 40 adults competed in the 2016 tournament, which raised about $8,000. This year, the fourth annual tournament, also a great success, took place on September 23. “It is a really great event,” she says. “Even though it is a competition, it is a friendly environment.” Last year, through her practice, Dr. Correa collected items benefitting the Operation Care International organization. Earlier this year, she donated to and collected funds for victims of a devastating landslide in Mocoa, Colombia. More recently, she has accepted donations on behalf of poverty-stricken residents of Venezuela. “I always try to be in contact with the community and help who needs it,” she shares. Frisco is known for its unique residents who generally go above and beyond to better the lives of those around them. The professionals at local businesses who give it their all and give back to others make this community truly great. Next time you find yourself at the dentist, ask some questions. You never know the story your dentist or orthodontist may have to share.

Pounding the Pavement - Frisco Style magazine

Pounding the Pavement By Lisa Ferguson - October 1, 2017 Sue Chapman, the president of the Frisco nonprofit organization Becky’s Hope Horse Rescue, needed seed money — literally. Last year, the organization decided to plant hay on its 200-acre property, located at State Highway 121 between Independence Parkway and Coit Road, to feed the dozens of abused and neglected horses it rescues and rehabilitates there. The organization also planned to sell a portion of the crop to help cover veterinary expenses for the animals and implement equine therapy and similar programs aimed at helping children and military veterans, among others. Before the organization could get growing, however, it had to secure funds to purchase hundreds of pounds of hayseed. On behalf of the 20-year-old organization, Ms. Chapman applied for a grant from the Frisco-based North Texas Community Giving Foundation, which supports the efforts of area nonprofit organizations by awarding them dollars to continue their work. Late last year, its board members voted to give the rescue a $1,400 grant, which enabled the facility to buy hayseed and spread it over about 60 acres. The first harvest was baled earlier this year. Ms. Chapman called the foundation “an incredible asset.” She says, “They offer nonprofits like us a hand up instead of a hand out, and I think that is really important. What they allowed us to do was use that money and be able to keep using it year after year to propagate more fields.” Established in 2014, the North Texas Community Giving Foundation is probably best-known for hosting Frisco’s annual Texas Big Star Half Marathon and 5K, its biggest annual fundraiser. First held last year, the event brought in about $150,000, the bulk of which has been given to numerous area nonprofit organizations, including Becky’s Hope Horse Rescue, Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County, Frisco Family Services and the Cornerstone Ranch group home for adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. This year’s race in April drew about 2,000 runners and hundreds of volunteers to Collin College’s Preston Ridge Campus. Plans are underway for the third annual race, scheduled for April 14, 2018, which will feature a new one-mile Fun Run event. The foundation, which also assists local students by funding scholarships awarded annually through the Frisco Education Foundation, was the brainchild of several members of the Leadership Frisco Class XVII, an installment of an ongoing annual program sponsored by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce. Participants must apply for and be accepted to the program that promotes leadership skills and civic responsibility. Longtime Frisco resident Mike Barber was in the 2013-2014 class. As a certified public accountant and one of the founding partners of the BKM Sowan Horan firm in Addison, he says he and several of his classmates “came out of the program feeling like we wanted to do something to give back to the community.” There are many area charities “that have really good programs that need help with funding. We realized that we did not need to create the programs, but we wanted to help fund some of these programs,” explains Mr. Barber, who is also a member of the Frisco Community Development Corporation and treasurer of the Rotary Club of Frisco. “We wanted to create a foundation where we could set up ourselves as a nonprofit, but then raise funds to be able to select charities we felt had good programs. We take a lot of pride in the organizations we select and the fact that we have so many different charities looking to us for funding,” he says, adding that the organization received more than 40 grant applications this year. “We want to give to as many as possible, but you also do not want to spread the money too thin. There are just so many programs you want to be able to give to because they seem so impactful.” Several former Leadership Frisco XVII classmates continue to serve on the North Texas Community Giving Foundation’s board of trustees, which is chaired by Mr. Barber. Among them are executives from various industries, philanthropists, physicians and attorneys, including the founding trustee, Paul Simon, of Simon Paschal PLLC. He serves as the foundation’s general counsel. Meanwhile, his wife, Julie Simon, is also a founding trustee. “It is an opportunity to do something bigger than yourself,” he says. “We have a lot of people who have a lot of compassion for our community. We all volunteer on the board, we all have day jobs, so this takes away from our work and family, but it is because we can see the impact it has on the community.” Mr. Simon is also the director of the Texas Big Star race. Reflecting on its beginnings, he shares, “The foundation really wanted to do something that promoted a healthy lifestyle. The race allows us to do that and just bring the community together.” The event draws weekend warriors and elite runners who compete for cash prizes and finisher medals. It also features a “Finisher Fest” that boasts food trucks, live music and vendor booths. “We have a fairly sizeable committee that works hard to put together a high-class run that benefits the community.” The goal, he says, is for it to eventually become “a destination race that continues to grow. The more runners we get, the more sponsors we get, which means we will raise more money to give back to the community.” Which is, after all, the foundation’s goal, reminds a fellow founding trustee, Ann Harris. “We advertise this race to raise money to help the community around us.” That is something Mrs. Harris knows a lot about. She and her husband, former college and NBA coach and current Texas Legends vice president Del Harris, have for decades given back by assisting various charitable organizations. For many years, the couple, who have lived in Frisco since 2000, ran the Del and Ann Harris Foundation for Christian Principles, which provided scholarships to students attending Christian universities, assisted with funding for church-based missions and helped homeless populations, as well as other charitable nonprofit organizations. Mrs. Harris is also the co-founder of Frisco Giving Tree, an organization that helps fulfill the immediate needs of Frisco residents and students who are struggling. She says it is not difficult to imagine a day when the North Texas Community Giving Foundation will be able to assist a hundred or more nonprofit organizations annually. “I think we are going to get bigger and bigger every year.” With that growth, Mr. Barber says the foundation will require more assistance from volunteers. He encourages members of the public who wish to become involved with the foundation start by lending a hand with the Texas Big Star event. “Ultimately, we want to be known as a foundation that has raised money to give back to the community,” he shares. If you are interested in learning more about the organization or volunteering with the North Texas Community Giving Foundation, call 844.330.6833 or go to ntxgivingfoundation.org. Frisco can make a great impact on local nonprofit organizations to improve the health, education and welfare of the community. It all starts with the help of local leaders!

Nipple-sparing mastectomies - Las Vegas Review Journal

Nipple-sparing mastectomy an option for some women By Lisa Ferguson Special to Niche Division/Review-Journal October 3, 2017 - 3:13 pm Mary Bennett was not your typical breast cancer patient. A biology professor at the College of Southern Nevada’s Charleston campus, she teaches human anatomy and physiology and said she likely has “a little bit better … understanding of cancer than a lot of people do.” Although that didn’t make receiving a HER2 positive breast cancer diagnosis in January any less troubling, Bennett said it did help that she is familiar with the various types of cancer surgeries and treatment options that are available. After neoadjuvant therapy this spring, which included six rounds of chemotherapy that quickly shrunk her tumor and a swollen lymph node, her thoughts turned to surgery and breast reconstruction. She had initially planned to have a breast-conserving lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy — that is, until she met with a plastic surgeon who advised that she was a good candidate for a nipple-sparing mastectomy. Unlike a conventional mastectomy, during which the entire breast is removed, only glandular tissue is removed from underneath the breast skin, nipple and areola with a nipple-sparing mastectomy. This creates a sort of skin envelope into which an implant or tissue harvested from elsewhere in the body can be inserted as part of breast reconstruction. The result typically is a more natural looking, aesthetically pleasing breast. Surprisingly, Bennett, 54, said she previously had been unfamiliar with nipple-sparing mastectomies. She consulted with her breast surgeon, Dr. Souzan El-Eid of Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, and decided it was her best option. “I thought about it for a night and was like, ‘This is going to give me a much more pleasing appearance afterward,’” she said. “You’ve seen pictures in the past where the women are just kind of butchered” by conventional mastectomies. “It’s not that I felt like if (the breast) was gone, I wouldn’t feel like a woman. I just wouldn’t feel like me.” Bennett underwent surgery in late August, and her cancer is currently in remission. “So far, for me, it’s been a fantastic experience,” she said, adding that she plans to have a nipple-sparing mastectomy performed on her other breast later this year in hopes of dodging another cancer diagnosis in the future. Nipple-sparing mastectomies are not new, but they are gaining favor among doctors and patients for their ability to provide a better cosmetic outcome than conventional mastectomies and lumpectomies. Because the surgical incision can be made underneath the breast, scars are often hidden from view. Most breast cancer patients are candidates for the surgery, unless their tumors are located in or near the nipple. Also, nipples that sag below the inframammary line, where the breast meets the chest, are at an increased risk of dying and sloughing off the body as a result of having lost their blood supply while being repositioned during surgery, said El-Eid, estimating that between 5 and 10 percent of the breast surgeries she performs are nipple-sparing mastectomies. The surgery is also usually an option for women who possess a pathologic genetic mutation, such as the BRCA gene mutations that increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and opt to have their breasts removed prophylactically as a method of cancer prevention. Post-surgery, all patients will experience a change in or loss of sensitivity in the breast, nipple and areola. “They need to know it’s definitely not the same,” El-Eid said, “and they should be prepared that the nipple will change sensation for sure. … It may change in color and become darker.” There have been concerns about the rate of cancer recurrence following nipple-sparing mastectomies. When the nipple is spared, so is some of the milk-duct tissue that resides in it. That is potentially problematic, since ductal carcinoma in situ, the most common form of breast cancer that occurs in women, can become invasive and spread, explained El-Eid, who is the medical director of the Breast Care Center at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center and post-president of the Clark County Medical Society. “I’ve always told patients, the more (tissue) you take out, the better off you are,” she said. “When we do mastectomy, there’s no radiation (therapy), so if there’s any tissue or cells left behind, they have the potential of growing in the future.” Mastectomy patients have about a 4 percent risk of experiencing a cancer recurrence, El-Eid said, while those who have undergone a lumpectomy have about a 1 percent per-year risk of having cancer recur in the remaining breasts. Similarly, the results of a recent study conducted at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, which were published this summer in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, found that the recurrence rate in female breast cancer patients within the first five years after nipple-sparing surgery is low. “The issue is we never really had data accumulated prospectively telling us the results in the long run,” said El-Eid, who next year will be installed as chairman of the imaging committee for the American Society of Breast Surgeons, which boasts thousands of physician members internationally. The Maryland-based organization recently closed enrollment for its Nipple Sparing Mastectomy Registry, which is designed to accumulate information about surgical techniques used, as well as aesthetic and oncologic outcomes associated with the procedures. Some 2,000 patients worldwide consented to participate in the registry, including patients of El-Eid’s from Summerlin Hospital’s Breast Care Center. Their post-surgery progress will be monitored in the coming years. “We follow the patients, we see how they do and then we keep reporting back on them,” she explained. “It will help us determine is it safe to leave the nipple … are these patients’ (cancers) recurring, are they recurring locally in the nipple (or) elsewhere in the breast,” as well as gauge patients’ satisfaction with their cosmetic outcomes. El-Eid said participating in the registry as a physician “makes me feel great,” because she will be able to offer future patients improved medical information. Also, “It makes my patients feel good that they are doing their share for the future, for their daughters, for their granddaughters. It’s really exciting.” Bennett consented to be included on the Nipple Sparing Mastectomy Registry. “I’m a scientist, and I want that (medical) information out there,” she said of her decision. Also, “I think everybody needs to make the choice for themselves” about whether to undergo the surgery. “It’s important that they realize that there are these options now.”

Victory Bells - Las Vegas Review Journal

Ringing victory bell signals end of treatment By Lisa Ferguson Special to Niche Division/Review-Journal October 17, 2017 - 8:13 am Breast cancer runs in Anne Marie Budd-Baldwin’s family. Several of her cousins have been diagnosed with the disease that also claimed the life of her beloved sister, Henderson resident Connie Budd-Gomeau, nearly two decades ago. So it didn’t surprise Budd-Baldwin when she received her own breast cancer diagnosis in July 2016. “I just had this feeling,” recalled the New Jersey resident, who divides her time between homes in the Garden State and Henderson. While undergoing treatment earlier this year at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, she had another feeling — this one a desire to honor her late sister’s memory while providing inspiration for others battling the disease. This summer, Budd-Baldwin donated five victory bells and had them installed at each of Comprehensive Cancer Centers’ local radiation centers, including the central valley treatment center on South Eastern Avenue where she was treated. Patients can opt to ring the bell when they complete their course of radiation therapy as a celebratory way to mark the end of treatment. Victory bells can be found at cancer treatment centers around the world. The bell-ringing tradition reportedly began in 1996 at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Irve Le Moyne, the nation’s highest-ranking Navy SEAL and founder of the Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, underwent treatment that year for head and neck cancer at the renowned medical facility. According to published reports, Le Moyne toted a brass bell on his last day of treatment and explained to his doctor that sailors traditionally ring a bell upon completing a job. He also recited a short poem, which is now routinely posted alongside other victory bells: Ring this bell Three times well Its toll to clearly say, My treatment’s done This course is run And I am on my way! Sadly, 57-year-old Le Moyne lost his battle with cancer the following year. Budd-Baldwin said she first learned about victory bells last year, when a teenage relative was treated for pediatric cancer at a Philadelphia hospital that had one. Following his treatment, she recalled, “He said it was the greatest thing to ring that bell.” After she was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, the second most commonly diagnosed form of invasive breast cancer, Budd-Baldwin sought treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Camden, New Jersey. An oncologist there put her on a six-month oral chemotherapy regimen intended to shrink her tumor and, she said, advised her to wait before proceeding with breast-cancer surgery. After undergoing a second mammogram in November 2016, Budd-Baldwin was told that the tumor had shrunk. The following month, she arrived in Southern Nevada to spend the winter with her son, Joby Baldwin, who is director of housekeeping at Bally’s. In February 2017, Budd-Baldwin saw a local primary-care physician who reviewed her medical records. The primary-care physician “was not comfortable at all” with the oncologist’s advice to hold off on surgery and urged her to seek a second opinion. Budd-Baldwin soon met with CCCN medical oncologist Heather Allen as well as breast surgeon Margaret Terhar and underwent a lumpectomy in April. The surgery was followed by six and a half weeks of radiation therapy. While undergoing those treatments, 66-year-old Budd-Baldwin asked CCCN radiation oncologist Matthew Schwartz about installing a victory bell at the facility. “She just thought it was a very powerful and moving symbol that made people feel like they’d accomplished something,” recalled Schwartz, who said he had been unfamiliar with victory bells prior to treating Budd-Baldwin. For years, the center has awarded patients a frameable certificate at the end of treatment. “It kind of makes them feel like they’ve accomplished something,” Schwartz said. With the donation of the victory bells, “that’s another thing they can do if they so choose to.” Budd-Baldwin spent about $800 purchasing the bells at a Henderson marine store. Although she had wished to be the first person to ring the bell in early July at the central valley treatment center, she instead bestowed the honor upon a fellow cancer patient. “She was just so inspirational in her positive attitude (throughout treatment) that I asked her if she would like to be the first person to ring the bell,” Budd-Baldwin said. When her turn finally arrived the following week, “I rang the hell out of it.” Dozens of patients have since rung the bell, Schwartz said. “For some patients, it’s like a party atmosphere with them laughing. They want to take pictures with the (center’s) staff to share with their friends,” he explained. “Sometimes it’s a very emotional moment where (patients) just break down and cry and let all of the emotions out. “For every patient, it’s different, but overall it’s been a very positive experience, because it’s a symbol that they just went through something, a big moment in their lives. … It’s a big deal, so I think it deserves a special recognition, and I think the victory bells are a great way to do it.” Budd-Baldwin pulled out all the stops for her bell-ringing, which was attended by the center’s staffers, as well as her son. She donned a new dress, a fluffy pink boa and a sparkling pink tiara. “It was so cathartic to ring that bell. … I think that it does bring a sense of peace,” she said. “There are some people that chose not to (ring it), and that’s fine. But those that chose to do it, I’m really glad it’s there for them.”

A Wise Approach - Frisco Style Magazine

A Wise Approach By Lisa Ferguson - November 1, 2017 When Dr. Carol Wise looks at the thousands of specimen tubes that reside in the laboratory she oversees at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, she sees not only vials filled with important DNA samples, but also the patients and families behind them. People who generously and, quite literally, gave of themselves in hopes of helping further advancements in science and medicine that may someday work to cure others. “That tube is a little tube of gold,” says Dr. Wise, 54, who is the hospital’s director of molecular genetics and basic science. “People have heard me say our freezer is Fort Knox, and every time you hold a tube, that is somebody who was kind enough to give us a sample, or somebody who might have been suffering quite a bit.” Since starting at the hospital in 1997, Dr. Wise has led an ongoing research project that a decade ago identified the first genetic marker associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), a disease that causes an abnormal curvature of the spine. According to the Scoliosis Research Society, it affects about four in every 100 children ages 10 through 18 and is the most common form of scoliosis. “It is very important to catch this early and treat them before it becomes a real medical problem,” she says. “It is a large health burden on this hospital. It is also a very large health burden on our nation.” More than a billion dollars is spent annually on surgical scoliosis cases. In 2011, Dr. Wise and her team discovered a second genetic marker related to the disease. As part of their research, for which they have received funding from the National Institutes of Health, as well as from private sources and the hospital itself, they are studying members of some 2,500 families, screening each person for millions of genetic markers and storing their DNA for future use in research. Over the years, she has gotten to know many of the patients and their families personally. She has attended their birthday parties and, sadly, in some cases, their funerals. “I did not know that I was going to fall in love with these people,” she shares. Molecular genetics research is not the type of work Dr. Wise imagined herself doing when she was a child growing up in the formerly small farming community of Forney. At Forney High School, she played on the varsity basketball team and ran track. Her twin sister, Cheryl, was a UIL state essay-writing champion, and also played sports. It is also where she met her future husband, John Wise, who, in 1992, opened Wise Orthodontics, one of the first orthodontic practices in Frisco. “When I first met him, I think I was a foot taller than him,” she says. He would sit in the stands and cheer her on during basketball games and once stopped to help her collect textbooks she dropped in the school hallway. “He probably does not remember that, but I do.” The daughter of a pair of educators — her mother, Jo Ann Cross, was head of the math department at Mesquite High School while her father, Ben Cross, helmed the biology department at North Mesquite High School — Dr. Wise figured she would pursue a career in either the math or science fields. She attended Texas A&M University and studied chemical engineering before switching to chemistry during her sophomore year. She graduated in 1985, the same year she and John wed, and went on to earn her doctorate in biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In 1991, the couple moved to Houston, where John was studying orthodontics and she was offered a post-doctoral fellowship in the top-ranked Baylor College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Human Genetics. There, she worked with Dr. James Lupski, who is noted for his genetic research and discoveries surrounding Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder. “He is a lion in my field, so I was really lucky to be there at the time,” Dr. Wise shares. At the same time, the Wises were also starting a family. Their son, Ben, was born in 1991, followed three years later by their daughter, Madeline. In 1992, the family relocated back to North Texas, and by the end of the decade had settled in Lucas. Prior to that, Dr. Wise continued her post-doctoral fellowship work. At UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, she worked alongside Dr. Michael Lovett researching in the field now commonly referred to as genomics. While there, she participated in a project focused on Hereditary Multiple Exostoses, a rare inherited disease in which children develop painful boney growths. It was through that work that she became connected with Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, where many of those patients received treatment. When it comes to molecular genetics, “There has never been a better time to do this kind of work, and I am in the best place to do this kind of work,” says Dr. Wise, who is also a professor at the Eugene McDermott Center and the departments of orthopedic surgery and pediatrics at UT Southwestern, where she participates in the Genes, Development and Disease graduate-training program. “The technologies that have developed and that are developing have completely changed what I do. Something that used to take two, three, four years can take a month or less now in terms of discovering a gene that causes disease.” Continuing her team’s scoliosis research at Scottish Rite Hospital remains a top priority. Since beginning their work two decades ago, the group has discovered additional genetic markers for AIS and published numerous articles in medical journals about their findings. “We can start to hypothesize a mechanism, meaning how molecules in the cell do not interact properly and it immediately has us starting to think about possible drug intervention” as well as ways to predict who may develop AIS. “The idea is that we can identify children at risk and give them a prevention in those juvenile years so they never develop it.” “Dr. Wise is an integral member of our expert staff here at the hospital,” says Dr. Daniel Sucato, chief of staff and director of Scottish Rite Hospital’s Center for Excellence in Spine. “Over the years, her groundbreaking work in genetics research has been recognized by medical professionals from around the world and has directly benefited not only our patients, but children everywhere. Her expertise and commitment to excellence make her an invaluable researcher and colleague at Scottish Rite Hospital.” Dr. Wise is also co-director of the hospital’s Genomics of Orthopedic Disease (GOOD for Kids) project, which utilizes cutting-edge techniques and samples collected from Scottish Rite patients and their families who suffer from other rare musculoskeletal disorders to uncover genetic causes of diseases. “These days, with the technologies we have, we can identify what is causal in a way that we could not a few years ago,” she shares. “Through this program, we are doing just that.” Dr. Wise says she could not have done this groundbreaking work on her own and credits her fellow research team members, as well as the hospital’s clinicians, for their contributions. “There are a whole lot of people behind the scenes who are responsible for the project’s success,” she says. “I am a tiny fraction of it.”

Advocating Lawyer - Park Cities People

Lawyer Advocates for Women, LBGT Workers by Lisa Ferguson · December 21, 2017 Janet Hendrick urges employers to embrace inclusiveness. Following the birth of her second child in the late 1990s, attorney Janet Hendrick threw the brakes on her successful legal career and became a stay-at-home mother. When she returned to work more than a decade later, “I very much had to fight my way back into practice,” the University Park resident recalled. The experience, she said, has likely helped fuel her passion for serving as an advocate for other women in the legal profession, and inspired her to become a frequent speaker on workplace protections for LGBT individuals. A partner in the Dallas office of national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips, Hendrick was recently named one of Dallas’ Top 50 Women in Law by the nonprofit National Diversity Council, which promotes diversity and inclusion. Hendrick has collaborated with the organization, as well as with the Texas Diversity Council, by becoming a panelist at conferences including the NDC-hosted Dallas Women’s Conference in November, and by helping anyway she can, she said. An employment litigator who represents companies and corporations in state and federal courts and arbitration, and who counsels employers with how to comply with employment laws, Hendrick is a member of the National Association of Women Lawyers; Dallas Women Layers Association; the American Bar and Dallas Bar Associations; and the Collin County Bar Association. “Just like everything in history, it’s going to take a while, but we have some excellent, very smart people fighting the fight.” -Janet Hendrick Fisher Phillips managing partner Michael Abcarian praised Hendrick. “We are so proud that Janet was chosen to be part of this elite group,” he said. “Her contributions to firm clients and development of our Dallas office have been both exceptional and invaluable.” Although diversity initiatives have become common, many people do not understand “the business case for diversity and inclusion,” Hendrick said. “The bottom line is … businesses should strive for their workforces to mirror those to whom they are providing services or products.” That is especially true in the legal profession, where Hendrick, 55, said there is room for improvement. While the number of students entering and graduting law school is split fairly evenly between men and women, “What you see is by the time they’re reaching partnership ranks, the numbers have dropped amazingly low [for] women who are still around to be making partner. And when you look at the equity partnership ranks, the numbers are even worse,” she explained. “We still have a long way to go.” About issues faced by LGBT workers, Hendrick said, “I will tell you I think things are getting better, because people are talking about it so much more. “People are just so much more familiar with the issues … and people are not staying in the shadows like they might have five, 10 years ago ... We have some excellent, very smart people fighting the fight.”

Pickleball - Park Cities People

Pickleball: A Sport for All Ages by Lisa Ferguson · December 29, 2017 Area pickleball enthusiasts often find themselves in, well, a bit of a pickle due to a lack of local courts on which to play. One of the fastest growing sports in the country, pickleball is a fusion of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. It is played in singles- or doubles formation on indoor and outdoor badminton-sized courts, as well as on tennis courts that are modified to include boundary lines specific to pickleball. Using small wooden or plastic racquets, players volley a whiffle-type ball across a net. According to the nonprofit USA Pickleball Association, there are upward of 15,000 pickleball courts in the U.S. Especially popular at retirement communities, the sport is also gaining favor with children and teens who play as part of middle-and high school physical education classes. Several Dallas Park & Recreation Department facilities feature pickleball courts or modified tennis courts on which games are played, including the Churchill, Fretz, Ridgewood/Belcher, Kiest, and Walnut Hill recreation centers. Pickleball is also offered at Town North Family YMCA and First United Methodist Church of Richardson. Highland Park native Linda Barton took up pickleball two years ago. A member of USAPA, she recently participated in a pickleball tournament in Tucson, Arizona, and while vacationing has played in pick-up games in San Francisco and San Jose, California. Some say pickleball got its funny name because creator Joel Pritchard’s dog Pickles liked to run off with the ball, while others credit his wife, Joan, a rower. She saw the way the sport for all ages was pieced together from other sports and compared that to how the “pickle boat,” the slowest one, is manned by oarsmen left over from other boats. Visit usapa.org to learn more about the sport. Source: USA Pickleball Association. (Photo: Chris McGathey) “People show up, and you put your paddle in a line … and you go out and play,” she explained. “You can’t do that with golf or tennis.” This summer, an indoor basketball court at Moody Family YMCA was striped with tape to accommodate pickleball programing that is offered for members and guest-pass holders there from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Randy Garrett would like to see more pickleball courts available in the Park Cities. The longtime Highland Park resident and his wife, Marialice, discovered the sport earlier this year. He now plays weekly as part of a group that meets at the gated Glen Lakes subdivision. It is difficult to find places and times to play locally, he said. “Each place that we go only has set aside an hour or two for us to play. … So you really have to be able to bend your schedule to be able to play pickleball, and that makes it tough to do.” Garrett and Barton attended a Highland Park Town Council study session in the fall and spoke with Ronnie Brown, director of town services, about the possibility of having one or more area tennis courts striped to accommodate pickleball games. “We’re open to it,” Brown said. The town plans to resurface a pair of courts in 2018 and likely will stripe a tennis court for pickleball at Abbott Park, 4814 Abbott Ave.

Colors of the Year 2018 - Las Vegas Review Journal

https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/home-and-garden/color-trends-for-the-new-year/ Color trends for the new year By Lisa Ferguson Special to Your Home January 6, 2018 - 8:05 am Purple will reign in 2018. So predict the experts at Pantone, the New Jersey-based company that is considered the international authority on color trends. In December, it named a “dramatically provocative and thoughtful” purple hue called Ultra Violet its choice for color of the year. In a statement, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said, “From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.” Consumers should look for purple to surface this year on all types of packaging and in graphic designs, as well as home decor, cosmetics and on fashion runways. Also in the colorful mix: cruciferous vegetables like purple cauliflower and purple cabbage, which the company calls the new “it” foods for their ability to bring “vibrancy and sophistication to the table.” Unfortunately, Jill Abelman is not a fan. The CEO and principal designer of Inside Style, a luxury interior design firm in Las Vegas, said the particular shade picked by Pantone is among her least favorites, although she does “enjoy seeing a deeper tone of purple in interiors on walls or in accessories and pillows.” However, she did give a thumbs-up to some of the other hues that were designated 2018’s colors of the year by more than a half-dozen of the nation’s largest paint manufacturers. In addition to purple, keep an eye out this year for various shades of green. Kelly-Moore Paints’ Bahia Grass is a pale green that Mary Lawlor, the company’s color marketing manager, said was selected by crowdsourcing members of the American Society of Interior Designers, who voted for the winning color. Lawlor calls it a “transitional” shade that will work well as interior design styles begin to shift away from the wildly popular gray hues that have dominated in recent years toward a forthcoming barrage of beige. Bahia Grass is “delicate enough that it could be used pretty much anywhere in the home,” she said. “You can still keep that with your gray-overall theme that’s going on, but … in a kitchen with white cabinetry, it would be really stunning and warm.” “That one is really soft, really versatile,” Abelman said, adding that she might consider painting it in a bedroom or home office. “It’s an all-around good green.” In contrast, The Green Hour by Dunn-Edwards Paints is a more complex shade, according to Sara McLean, color expert and stylist for the Los Angeles-based manufacturer. She researched global color trends for more than a year before selecting the color, which she said points to a return to a Gilded Age-type aesthetic, as well as maximalism and revival styles. Despite its name, the hue can appear blue in certain lighting conditions, she said. “Green is essentially a neutral (color), and this is just amping up that aspect of it. … It really plays well with a variety of color matches from grays to oranges to reds and other shades of blues and greens, so it really creates a wealth of possibilities.” Ken Wolfson, owner and principal designer at Las Vegas luxury firm Ken Wolfson Interior Design, said The Green Hour’s nod to art-deco design is interesting. “I think it’s a great color.” On the other hand, he is not enamored with In The Moment by Behr Paint. “That’s a tough color,” he said of the blue-green-gray hue. “The farmhouse-modern (design trend) has exploded, so this whole kind of antique 1920s (aesthetic) mixed with modern (styles) is a huge trend, and so I understand why they went that direction.” Erica Woelfel, vice president of Behr’s color and creative services, called the shade “the perfect coalescence” of the aforementioned colors. “We feel like it’s very approachable,” she said, especially when creating a spa-like bathroom and soothing bedroom space. “It’s just a really easy color to use.” Abelman disagreed. “I don’t know if it ever won’t remind me of a hospital,” she said, or at least the drab scrubs traditionally worn by staffers. “I don’t think I would use it.” However, she does like Sherwin-Williams’ Oceanside, a vibrant teal blue that boasts a midcentury-modern vibe. “I totally dig that color,” Abelman said. She would potentially use it in “a really fun (home) library or office. … I think it’s beautiful, but you’d need an adventurous spirit” to paint it on walls. Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams’ director of color marketing, said online searches of 1950s- and ‘60s-era interior design trends often yield images featuring colors akin to Oceanside. “It’s in dining rooms and living rooms, and it’s gorgeous. We spent so long with neutrals and lights. Now we’re kind of looking to color again, and it takes some getting used to,” she said. Wolfson called the shade “fantastic” and envisions using it in uber-popular farmhouse-modern designs, as well as more modern settings. “Bold color on the walls with the right furniture (in) the right context makes you feel good, and this color is a very good-feeling color,” he said. “It’s bold and luxurious.” The latter is also how he described Caliente, a red hue by Benjamin Moore &Co. that Wolfson deemed his favorite of all the 2018 color of the year selections. Following a year’s worth of research, Caliente was selected by a team of seven Benjamin Moore employees who traveled to 31 countries and snapped more than 42,000 photos to learn “what’s influential, how do people live with different colors … and really synthesize that into a color that is livable on our walls,” explained Hannah Yeo, the company’s color and design expert. She called the shade “classic yet poppy,” with the ability to show “a little bit of character without overdoing it.” “This particular red is really special because it’s got black (undertones in it),” Wolfson explained. “It’s not a fire-engine red or a stop-sign red. Because of the black and charcoal in it, that’s what makes it work.” Abelman likened the color to a lipstick red. “That one is just a little too bright for most applications that I would be interested in,” she said. “I see it as more of an accent (color) in fabrics, pillows, draperies maybe — something where you’re making a little bit smaller of a statement. … It’s a little bit intense for every day, all day.” At least it isn’t boring, which is how she described Dutch Boy Paints’ Sandstone Tint, a neutral “greige” (a blend of gray and beige). “I don’t even know if you can call that a color. It’s just a background,” Abelman said. “That’s like the color of the year for homebuilders. .. That one says to me, ‘OK, we just moved in. We have no idea what to do with the walls, so we’re going to paint everything beige.’” That is precisely the point, according to Rachel Skafidas, senior designer for Dutch Boy. “It’s a very simple and clean color,” she said, calling it a “breather color, one that makes you just stop and catch your breath.” “In this chaotic world that we live in, people just want to feel safe in their homes. … This color works perfectly for that,” Skafidas said, and it won’t overshadow more dramatic furniture and accessories. “If you have a vibrant piece of artwork that you want to display or you’ve found that perfect royal-blue sofa, it’s going to look great with the wall color.” Wolfson doesn’t need convincing. “It’s a super-great color,” he said of Sandstone Tint, and he recommends painting rooms from floor to ceiling with the shade. “Yes, this looks boring, but if you do the entire house … all the surfaces this color, it’s surprisingly exciting. It’s a very sophisticated color.” If it’s sophistication that homeowners want, PPG Paints (which also owns the Glidden and Olympic paint brands) attempts to deliver it via a trio of black shades it chose as its colors of the year. Dee Schlotter, PPG’s senior color marketing manager, said its 26-member global color team selected the “misunderstood neutral” because black best represents the current “collective, somber mood” that exists surrounding the global economy and international politics, among other issues. “We looked at the rebelliousness in the world, the unsettled feeling, the need to express yourself no matter what side you’re on,” she said. There is also greater desire for privacy, which black traditionally provides. “It’s a serious color … and makes you feel a little more protected from the crazy, chaotic world around us.” The navy-blue undertone that permeates PPG’s Black Flame underscores “that need for meditation and just silence,” Schlotter explained. It also provides a little twist on the “true black” that is Olympic’s Black Magic. She called Glidden’s Deep Onyx a “no-fuss shade of black. … It’s just like that little black dress that you have in your closet that can work with anything.” “All of these blacks are great,” Wolfson said. “What’s interesting about black is that it ends up being warmer and more comfortable and more peaceful than you would think.” Deep Onyx is his favorite of the three colors. “It’s awesome. It just pops. It’s very exciting. It just adds a lot of style,” he said. Although Wolfson called Black Flame “gorgeous,” he warned its blue tone could prove challenging when applied on the walls of a room with multiple exterior windows. “The blue sky can kind of play with that color, so it’s something you have to be careful with.” Abelman said she appreciates Black Magic’s beauty. “That one has a little bit more charcoal in it. … I think it is gorgeous as a backdrop for beautiful artwork and mirrors (with) creamy, lighter furnishings in front of it,” she said. “It definitely gives you the high drama, which I particularly love.” No matter the color, however, she said color of the year selections rarely come into play when she designs spaces for her customers. “It’s more about what the client wants and what works for them … and if (a color of the year) happens to creep in there, that’s great, but it’s not something I use as a guide in any way,” Abelman said. “I’d rather have my designs for clients be timeless.”