William Ward, M.D., Makes Impact with Allograft Surgery |
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William Ward, M.D., makes an impact on lives through allograft surgery. Two years ago, when Tyler Fisher was six, he was diagnosed with a bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma in his right leg. Amputating his right lower leg might have been the only option at one time, but Tyler was saved that decision by limb reconstruction surgery using an allograft from MTF. The surgery was performed by orthopaedic surgeon William Ward, a member of MTF’s Medical Board of Trustees. Tyler is now eight years old and has been in remission for over a year. Tyler can now run and play with all the other children at school. “We can hardly keep up with him,” say his parents, Wanda and Steve Fisher. Tyler is just one of a long line of successful allograft surgeries for William (Bill) Ward. This year Dr. Ward will attend the wedding of one of his first large allograft patients. The groom had his allograft surgery in the early 1990s as a young boy, and has since established a successful business career. “As a surgeon, I get to do things most other surgeons—even orthopaedic surgeons—wouldn’t choose to do,” said Dr. Ward. “It requires a lot of imagination to address some of these major challenges like tumors and trauma. MTF provides the broad variety of structural allografts that let me take care of these patients. Without these options, patients would have far fewer good options.” |
Dr. Ward uses an allograft versus a metal implant for patients who have a good chance at long term survival, and when he wants to retain the patient’s natural joint. The allograft offers a more normal joint for more normal activity and mobility. “Even though I always knew how important donated tissue was to tissue recipients, I didn’t realize until later in my life just how important tissue donation also is to donor families,” Dr. Ward said. “Their donation brings some solace to them, which I didn’t fully realize.” When he’s not taking care of patients, Dr. Ward jogs and coaches his kids’ soccer teams. He even developed an educational DVD on soccer skills. His all-time favorite activity is slalom water skiing. William Ward went to medical school and did his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina. He did an Oncology Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles, California and a Sports Medicine Fellowship at Cleveland Orthopaedic Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. “The work I do is a calling, a mission,” said Dr. Ward. “I feel like I was put here to do this kind of work. I’m incredibly blessed to make such an impact on people’s lives.” As a member of MTF’s Medical Board of Trustees, Dr. Ward is part of a team that accesses the knowledge and experience of leading surgeons, infectious disease specialists, nursing professionals, processing and recovery specialists, technical experts, educators and ethicists nationwide who focus on the respectful stewardship of donated tissue. |
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“Thankfully, because someone chose tissue donation, our 8-year old son, Tyler, now can be a normal kid again,“ said Tyler’s mom, Wanda Fisher. “Dr. Ward explained the allograft procedure to us, and performed the successful surgery. You would never know that a year ago Tyler was in a wheelchair and could not walk.” New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce |
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Commissioner Socolow joins MTF employees in the MTF Donor Memorial Garden, located on the grounds of MTF's corporate headquarters in Edison, NJ, to award the MTF Training Grant. (L to R) Jennifer Sheppard, Employee Development Specialist, MTF; Martha Anderson, Executive Vice President, Donor Services, MTF; Robert Russo, Associate Director for Logistics, MTF; Joseph Yaccarino, Executive Vice President, Operations, MTF; David Socolow, Commissioner of the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development; Bruce Stroever, President and CEO, MTF; Ana Montero, Director, Office of Grants Operations, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development; Michael Kawas, Executive Vice President and CFO, MTF.
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Continuing the Corzine Administration’s efforts to keep New Jersey a national leader in workforce development, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner David J. Socolow awarded an $84,200 customized training grant to MTF in September. This grant will help MTF employees keep abreast of new technologies and aid them in the fulfillment of MTF’s mission. Customized Training Grants like this meet industry-specific workforce development challenges and encourage investment in new technologies and equipment. For example, MTF will train their workers in lean manufacturing, team building and business communications. These are skills MTF employees must master in order to provide the best services to recipients, donors and their families as well as to further the science of transplantation. “We are delighted to receive this grant from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which will help us provide training and keep more workers in New Jersey,” noted Bruce Stroever, MTF President and CEO. Improving occupational skills helps us maintain our commitment to excellence in education, research, recovery and care for recipients, donors and their families.”
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New MTF Scrapbook Preserves Tissue Recipient Thank You Letters |
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The Linking Lives program works like this: |
donor family and where to send it. A tissue graft bar code ID is affixed to this information so that the letter can be routed correctly. Maggie Coolican, MTF Coordinator, Donor Family Services, receives the letter and sends it to the appropriate recovery partner. Donor families may choose or not choose to write back to the recipient. The decision to accept any correspondence from the donor family is also completely up to the recipient. MTF is honored to help facilitate this program, thanks to the combined efforts of our recovery partners, family service coordinators and many volunteers. Scrapbooks were recently distributed to each of MTF’s recovery partner programs. Please contact Tracy Jean at Tracy_Jean@mtf.org or 732-661-2132, to request more copies. |
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In this age of instant email, isn’t it reassuring to know that people still take the time to write personal thank you letters? In fact, MTF’s Linking Lives Through Letters program has linked over 1,000 tissue recipients with their donor families since the program began in March 2007. MTF recently collected excerpts from just a few of these letters into a special commemorative Scrapbook of Tissue Recipient Letters. Kevin Morsching’s Pursuit of Excellence Shines On |
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Contributed by Rebecca Ousley, Public Relations Coordinator, LifeSource
If Kim Morsching had to pick one word to describe her son, Kevin, it would be arête. Kevin fell in love with the Greek word, which translates to “pursuing excellence.” To Kevin, arête wasn’t just a word—it was his mantra for life. Kevin pursued excellence in everything he did and constantly pushed himself to the limits. According to Kim, “Kevin wasn’t happy unless he was giving one hundred percent.” His passion for sports and athleticism was showcased on the baseball field with the South Dakota State University team and as a semi-pro baseball player in California. In August 2007, Kevin was fatally injured in a skateboarding accident. Kevin died as he lived—giving one hundred percent. Kevin had made the decision to become |
an organ and tissue donor when he applied for his driver’s license and his generous donation was supported by his family. Kevin’s heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas saved the lives of six people. Kevin’s gifts of tissue will be used in dozens of life-changing surgeries for years to come. Kim Morsching is honored to continue Kevin’s shining mantra of excellence as one of this year’s selected MTF float riders in the 2009 Donate Life Rose Parade Float. In addition to sponsoring Kim as a rider, MTF is honored to participate with AATB to help sponsor float rider Eric Miller of Spokane, Washington, whose young son, Micah, died at sixteen months and became a tissue donor.
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“Donation was our bright spot. You know all of the good things about your child, and this is their last good thing.” --Kim Morsching, mother of Kevin Morsching, 21, organ and tissue donor.
Coordinated by OneLegacy, the parade will take place Thursday, Jan 1, 2009 at 8 a.m. (PST). Follow the inspiring journey of “Stars of Life” at the official Donate Life float website,