Queen Kapi’olani’s Living Gift to Island Keiki
The toughest journey voyager Nainoa Thompson ever made was the one that began when his son was born with a life-threatening disorder. At 9 months, all’s well
| While visiting her baby in the Kapi‘olani NICU, Olina Lee (left) talks with Kapi‘olani CEO Martha Smith and pediatrics director Mavis Nikaido |
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Nainoa Thompson has been on many epic voyages in his life. But not one of them compares to the journey that he and his wife, KHON’s Kathy Muneno, have been on as they welcome their children into the world. It’s a journey that has taken them from the bright joy of their twins’birth to the dark moment when they heard those fearful words, “Something’s wrong with your son.”
Babies Na’inoa and Puana arrived Nov. 22 at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children. Kathy remembers both babies uttering their first cries as they were delivered. Nainoa caught all the happy moments on his camera. All was well.
But within 24 quick hours, there was a terrible jolt. Little Na’i was not feeding, and a nurse, suspecting a problem, called in the doctors. Nainoa and Kathy were stunned to learn that their son had a life-threatening problem. Even if surgery was successful, Na’i might need years in the hospital and would probably always struggle to gain weight.
“I’ve been through some rough stuff in my life, but I’ve never been more afraid than I was then,” Nainoa says.
Na’i underwent emergency surgery when he was just 32 hours old. Two more surgeries followed. Family and friends rallied around, and people from all over the world prayed for Na’i. And he pulled through. After three months in the neonatal intensive care unit, Kathy and Nainoa were able to put their son in a car seat for the very first time and take him home.
At 6 months, against all expectations, he started to gain weight. Now, at 9 months, he has outpaced his dainty sister in the weight-gain department. He’s got chubby cheeks, roly-poly legs and, oh my, what a smile. His surgeon, Dr.
Sidney Johnson, calls him the miracle baby.
Nainoa and Kathy are an intensely private couple. They thought long and hard about going on the cover of MidWeek with their children. Ultimately, they decided to share their story because of how they feel about the staff at Kapi’olani and what the hospital means to Hawaii and all children as it marks its 100th anniversary.
Nainoa is quite frank. His first impression of the hospital was its really bad parking lot. (It’s a notoriously tight space even if you don’t have a pregnant belly or a car seat.)
“Now I don’t complain about the parking lot anymore – although they do need a new one,” Nainoa says. “Now I see it as a place of compassion, a place of healing, where you can see, on a daily basis, the vision of hope.”
This story, they say, is not theirs, but one that belongs to all Hawaii’s children. In its 100 years, Kapi’olani has cared for more than 1 million children. As you read this story today, there are upward of 46 babies in the NICU at Kapi’olani. The battle that Na’i fought and won is being fought, day in and day out, by other young lives.
In the early 1900s, two out of every seven babies born in Hawaii died before their first birthday (which helps explain the tradition of baby luau). Today, Hawaii’s infant mortality is less than 1 percent. With nearly half of all babies on Oahu born at Kapi’olani, the hospital plays a vital role in providing the specialized care children need.
This is where families from around the Pacific find hope when their children are sick. Children with cancer have access to the same standard of care as they do at the big-name hospitals on the Mainland. And Kapi’olani provides a swath of services not available anywhere else in the state – let alone for 2,500 miles in any direction. This is where you find the only pediatric ER, the only pediatric heart program and round-the-clock pediatric specialists.
Walking the hallways, there is no doubt that this is a kid-centric place. There is the colorful playroom stacked with toys. There are the bright quilted butterflies that are hung over a patient’s bed to alert those around when a child is terminally ill. There are the beads of courage that oncology patients make into strings as they pass important milestones. And there is Tucker the dog, who brings his own special canine brand of healing to everyone.
“We’re really proud of the fact that this hospital is a world-class organization caring for Hawaii’s women and children,” says chief operating officer Martha Smith. She’s so concerned about the patient experience that she hands out her personal cell phone number to every family – all calls, satisfied or upset, are gratefully taken.
“This facility is a really special place, and we believe that keeping Hawaii’s children healthy is an important part of this community,” Smith says. “We benchmark ourselves both nationally and internationally against other children’s hospitals and … the outcomes that we have here in many of our programs are just as good, if not better than, the really big-name children’s hospitals.”
Still, Kapi’olani’s staff is doing it in a facility that long ago lost its edge and ran out of space. The hospital was state-of-the-art when it was built in 1978. But it’s car-
ing for more and more sick children, and the technology that saves them is taking up more and more room. In the process, the softer areas of the hospital, like waiting rooms, have been chipped away.
The neonatal and pediatric ICUs are models of an old system of care, with rows of bassinets or curtained cubicles that offer no privacy. In both ICUs, families are out in the open as they celebrate or grieve life-and-death moments. Nainoa saw this happen while his family was in the NICU with Na’i. When something happens, everyone feels it.
Beyond the technology and skill that saved Na’i’s life, the Thompsons were deeply touched by the love and compassion they found in the hospital.
“This was the most terrifying experience I’ve been through,” Nainoa says. “At the same time, it was the most powerful humane experience I’ve been through, too.”
He and Kathy remain grateful to the staff, from the nurse who made that first, life-saving call, to Dr. Johnson who would call from the OR to let them know how Na’i was doing, to nurses such as Laura Fujimoto, who would carry Na’i in a sling so he had that important human contact when they could not be there.
“It’s so comforting to know they’re being loved,” Kathy says. “And there were also those times when I would break down, thinking I couldn’t do it, and they would be there with a hug and talking to me.”
Queen Kapi’olani started the Kapi’olani Maternity Home in 1909 by holding bazaars and luaus to raise the $8,000 needed. Now, 100 years later, Kapi’olani is asking for the community’s help again as it raises money for the future. Just as Hawaii’s residents rely on Kapi’olani to be there when they need it, the non-profit hospital needs its community support. And this year the hospital unveiled a multimillion-dollar, 15-year expansion plan.
First up is new space that will quadruple the NICU and triple the PICU. Both ICUs will move from an open-plan model to private rooms that will allow families to stay with their children 24 hours a day.
“The new unit will have all state-of-the-art design, with noise-deadening floors, and walls and ceilings because it’s been proven that, by minimizing stimulation, the babies are less stressed and they can grow faster and gain weight,” Smith says.
Phase I, which is targeted for completion in 2017, also includes an education space that will give parents the skills they need to care for their child at home. And a new family room will allow parents to take care of everyday needs, such as laundry, during extended hospital stays.
Nainoa will not be the only one happy to hear that the expansion also includes a new parking lot. As he and Kathy recently watched their son and daughter play under the kiawe trees at the Thompson family home, he reflected on what Kapi’olani means to Hawaii.
The hospital saved his son. The Thompsons get to dream about the things they will do with their children as they embark on the next journey of growing up: about the first paddles they might use and the voyages they might take. But Nainoa has always looked to the bigger horizon, and, for him, that future includes all the children that the hospital will help in the next 100 years.
“Kapi’olani is a treasure for Hawaii,” he says. “It’s something Hawaii should be proud of. And all treasures need to be cared for.”
Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children 100 Birthday Candles
* In an historic event, Hawaii’s five local television stations will simultaneously air Kapi’olani’s story on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. The one-hour special looks at the hospital’s history and features many Island families, including the Thompsons, whose loved ones have received life-saving care.
* On Aug. 27 and 28, KSSK radio will hold a Radiothon to benefit the Kapi’olani Children’s Miracle Network. Listeners can make a donation by calling 952-KIDS.
* Kapi’olani’s birthday party takes place at Honolulu Zoo Aug. 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The day includes keiki activities, entertainment and prize giveaways. Download and print a free pass at http://www.kapiolanigift.org; or pay regular admission at the door.
* As part of the Kapi’olani Story Project, the hospital is seeking personal experiences, cherished memories and reflections from families who have been touched by Kapi’olani and its predecessor, Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital. All are invited to share their story at http://www.KapiolaniStoryPr oject.org. On Sept. 30, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii will select one winner from the contributors to receive a grand prize of 200,000 SPG Starpoints.
neurologic,
Patient A was a previously healthy black male, age 17, who was initially sent home with a prescription for oseltamivir after seeking treatment at a community hospital emergency room. He was admitted the next day because of increased weakness. He was disoriented and confused and gave slow and intermittent responses to questions. His mental status returned to normal on day three.
