{"id":229,"date":"2008-05-29T13:11:34","date_gmt":"2008-05-29T17:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=229"},"modified":"2008-05-29T13:11:34","modified_gmt":"2008-05-29T17:11:34","slug":"tyrone-youngster-to-be-featured-on-local-broadcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Tyrone youngster to be featured on local broadcast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anthony Lower<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Children\u2019s Miracle Network at Geisinger will launch its 25th-annual Celebration Weekend May 31.
\nThe weekend activities once again will include a live broadcast on WTAJ beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31 and ending at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 1.
\nOne of this year\u2019s miracle kids is Anthony Lowery of Tyrone. This is his story.
\nAround Christmastime in 2006, everyone in the family was sick, Brenda Kirkpatrick and Craig Lowery say \u2013 but it was only their son, Anthony, who didn\u2019t seem to get better. Instead, the youngster \u2013 who was just under 2 years old at the time \u2013 continued to get sicker.
\nDoctors first told them it was a chronic cough, then prescribed antibiotics. Nothing seemed to help.
\n\u201cHis appetite decreased, he cried all the time, and he wouldn\u2019t sleep,\u201d Brenda remembers.
\nWhen a fever hit and lasted for six weeks, it caused even more concern. And that fear only swelled when one of Anthony\u2019s ears began to ooze \u2013 then the other.
\n\u201cWe went to the emergency room three times and were at the doctor\u2019s office once every other week \u2013 if not every week,\u201d Brenda says. \u201cAnthony was in complete misery.\u201d
\nAfter three months, Brenda and Craig were more determined than ever to find out exactly what was wrong with their child. Brenda returned to the doctor, insisting on answers to why Anthony was suffering. Since there didn\u2019t seem to be an obvious answer, the doctor sent them for bloodwork, then for a chest x-ray.
\n\u201cHe said that Anthony had a really bad case of pneumonia, and it had completely infected his lung,\u201d Brenda remembers, adding that they were sent immediately to their local hospital. \u201cI started to panic at this point.\u201d
\nA CT scan revealed the extent of damage to Anthony\u2019s lung, which had collapsed. Possibly in a life-threatening situation, the young boy needed surgery and specialized care at a children\u2019s hospital. The family chose Geisinger\u2019s Janet Weis Children\u2019s Hospital in Danville, and Brenda rode in the ambulance with her son, holding him the entire way.
\n\u201cI followed behind them in my truck, and I could see inside the ambulance. I watched them the whole way,\u201d Craig says.
\nThey arrived at 12:30 a.m.
\n\u201cWe had thought this would be a routine case, but then we saw Anthony\u2019s scans and saw Anthony,\u201d says Dr. Michael Ryan, chairman of Geisinger\u2019s Janet Weis Children\u2019s Hospital. As a pediatric infectious disease specialist, Dr. Ryan also was one of the first to treat the young boy. \u201cIn all my years, it was one of the most emergent pneumonias and empyemas I\u2019ve seen.\u201d
\nThe severe pneumonia, an infection in the lungs, and empyema, pus filling the lungs, left Anthony in a dire situation, and he required immediate treatment.
\n\u201cEverybody was there \u2013 so quick to help, to find out what the problem is and how quickly they can fix the problem,\u201d Brenda says.
\nAnthony underwent emergency surgery and had chest tubes placed to drain the fluid from his lungs.
\n\u201cWhen they drained it, there was five times the amount of fluid than his actual lung air-capacity was,\u201d Craig says. \u201cHis heart was pushed over to one side, and his diaphragm was pushed down. That\u2019s what was causing him so much pain.\u201d
\n\u201cIt had been building up over time,\u201d Dr. Ryan says. \u201cIt\u2019s like going over a waterfall; as you get closer, the water gets quicker, and once you\u2019re over the falls, you\u2019re in real trouble. We got to Anthony just before he went over the falls.\u201d
\nAfter the surgery, Anthony\u2019s health immediately started to improve. As soon as he was able to eat, he ate all the food that was brought to him, his parents remember. It was a sight that seemed unreal.
\nHis improvement continued over the next nine days \u2013 his total stay in the hospital. Brenda and Craig stayed with him in the room and watched his progress.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of pediatrics,\u201d Dr. Ryan says, noting how resilient children can be. \u201cKids can be very sick, but they also can get better very quickly.\u201d
\nAnthony\u2019s care continued at home with two weeks of intravenous antibiotics and two weeks of oral antibiotics as his health continued to improve.
\nNow 3 years old, Anthony is as active as any toddler. While it\u2019s possible that his lung suffered some damage, he has no restrictions, and it seems impossible that just last year, he was barely able to breathe without intense pain.
\n\u201cHe just bounced back so fast,\u201d Brenda says.
\nIt took a little longer for the parents\u2019 fears to fade, however.
\n\u201cIt was several months until I was comfortable to sleep myself,\u201d Brenda says, admitting that she still likes to sleep with the baby monitor on in Anthony\u2019s room to hear a sound many people could take for granted.
\n\u201cI like to hear him breathe.\u201d
\n—
\nChildren\u2019s Miracle Network at Geisinger \u2013 celebrating its 25th year in 2008 \u2013 helps make miracles happen every day at Janet Weis Children\u2019s Hospital, Geisinger Wyoming Valley in Wilkes-Barre, and more than 40 medical groups and pediatric specialty outreach clinics throughout a 31-county area. A nonprofit organization, it has raised more than $36 million for pediatric services, equipment and programs throughout Geisinger Health System.
\nFor more information, call 1-800-451-5437 or (814) 943-8887, or visit www.geisinger.org\/cmn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anthony Lower Children\u2019s Miracle Network at Geisinger will launch its 25th-annual Celebration Weekend May 31. The weekend activities once again will include a live broadcast on WTAJ beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 31 and ending at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 1. One of this year\u2019s miracle kids is Anthony Lowery of Tyrone. This is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area","category-excerpts-from-the-tyrone-daily-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}