The primary reason we decided to start a scholarship was the gratitude we felt toward those who provided funding for the scholarships we earned while in medical school. We wanted to start something that would grow as our careers grew. Dr. Molly Hinshaw (’94 BS EDU, ’00 MD), on the medical school scholarship established with husband Dr. Louis Hinshaw (’94 BS L&S, ’00 MD) |
|  | Jeff ( ’93 BA L&S) and Kristin Tracy of Lodi traveled only 25 miles to Madison to find care for their son, Tyler, who was born with a rare genetic disorder called Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PDHC), which made him incapable of processing carbohydrates. What the Tracys did not find at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics was a safe, supervised and supportive place for their two healthy children to play while they dealt with the realities of Tyler’s life-threatening condition. Today, they are going to great lengths to ensure that a sibling care center is included in the new American Family Children’s Hospital and that it be named “Tyler’s Place.”
Tyler gained notoriety when his formula was banned from importation from the United Kingdom by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration over a labeling issue. His parents launched a media campaign to bring attention to their cause, and Tyler was featured on local television programs and made headlines across the country. Eventually, the formula, Ketocal, became available again.
When Tyler required hospitalization, Jeff and Kristin struggled to give their full attention to participating in his care while keeping daughter McKayla and son Austin out of harm’s way in a hospital full of tubes, monitors and other interesting things. |
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| Tyler lost his battle with PDHC deficiency in 2003 at the tender age of 17 months. To honor their son, Jeff and Kirstin have begun a campaign to raise $200,000 to name the new sibling care center “Tyler’s Place.”
“While the idea of the sibling room was a welcomed surprise to me, the fact that the Tracys are making it a reality is not,” said Tyler’s physician, Dr. Joseph Mahoney. “After my experience with the Tracys, I see this as not just making the experience better, but as being essential for parents to provide better care for their family.”
“We don’t have many resources,” said Jeff. “It’s really just Kristin and I trying to get the word out and reach our goal. We know that some day soon a family will be utilizing the resources of a sibling care center and will be grateful it is there. They will have one less thing to try to manage, to have to cope with, to have to worry about. Having an opportunity to do all that and honor Tyler’s memory in the process is what keeps us going.”
To learn more about Tyler, his family and how to help make “Tyler’s Place” a reality visit www.tylersplace.org. |
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