 
Making a Difference One Person at a Time – Candice Cares
CandiceCares.com is a national organization that is currently supporting various charities and causes throughout the country. Through the generosity of thousands of donors, churches and groups in local communities many people have received much needed assistance through our support.
CandiceCares.com has assisted in many causes including the latest hurricane relief but, its main focus is to provide resources and funds to help children.
Candice Boggs & Roger Boggs are excited to announce the selection of the Phoenix Children Hospital in Phoenix Arizona and “My House” as its Sponsored charities for 2006.
Only kids. Only Phoenix Children's Hospital.
At Phoenix Children's Hospital, we know that children aren't just small adults. Their bodies are entirely different. That's why there is a special branch of medicine (pediatrics) just for them.
There are several benefits to kids-only hospital care. Learn why this kind of care is important.
Children's developmental, emotional and physical needs all play a part in their health. Our nationally acclaimed Child Life program uses specialists who ease children's fears through therapeutic play and open discussion. We coordinate special events and programs that encourage social interaction. We create a lively environment where kids can be kids.
At Phoenix Children's Hospital, we ask children how we can make the hospital a better place for kids and their families. They've given us lots of good advice over the years, such as ways to make procedures less painful, how to make treatment rooms look less scary, and how to better respect their privacy. Our new hospital allowed us to act on their suggestions about how a children's hospital should be designed. The result is a uniquely child-friendly environment with bright colors, special artwork and recreation spaces for kids of all ages.
Taking care of sick children means caring about the entire family. Our family-centered care philosophy encourages parents to be part of the health care team. We know it's important for parents to be involved in making decisions about their child's care. We address the special needs of siblings, too.
Everyone who works at Phoenix Children's Hospital is devoted to one important mission: providing hope, healing and the very best care possible to children and their families.
Families love Phoenix Children's. Read their letters.
Thank You for Your Donation
All donations made to the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation will be used to assist in the advancement of the programs of pediatric care which directly contribute to the health and well-being of the children of Arizona.
Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation
1920 E. Cambridge Ave., Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Phone: (602) 546-4483
Fax: (602)546-2644
If you would like to donate by check, please send to the address listed above, or you can donate electronically by using the secure form below.
 http://www.ecstreams.com/WLG/wma/my_house_v3_wmv.asx
“My House,” is a long-term transitional home for infants in need. The babies who come to My House are many times born with special medical problems that require extended hospitalization, or because of family issues, they cannot be discharged to their birth mother’s care. The all-volunteer staff works continuously with doctors and developmental specialists to ensure that the babies get the medical care they need, and the love and attention that is as necessary to their development.
The immediate need is to quickly raise the necessary funds to acquire property and a building for a new facility. The long-term goal is to build these facilities all across the United States.
Candice & Roger Boggs encourage you to get behind these worthwhile causes and help provide the care our children need. Candice Cares, Do you?
Ian Story…
The woman at Lori Wagner's door introduced herself as a case worker for Child Protective Services and demanded to see Lori's son, Ian, who was 2 at the time. It wasn't the first time someone had questioned the parenting abilities of Lori and her husband, Patrick.
Lori explained that the severe bruising on her son was due to hemophilia. A quick check with Ian's physician satisfied the case worker, but Lori spent the next day going door to door to explain to neighbors that her son had an inherited bleeding disorder and would continue to be black and blue through his toddler years. Then she tried to soften their inevitable embarrassment.
"I said I was glad to be in a neighborhood where people showed concern for children," she said.
Ian is classified as a severe hemophiliac, having less than one percent of a needed clotting factor in his blood. Severe hemophiliacs can bleed frequently without noticeable cause. The biggest danger does not come from cuts and scrapes, but from internal bleeding that can damage the joints and cause severe arthritis in adulthood.
Fortunately, treatment has advanced dramatically in the past decade. Phoenix Children's Hospital is on the forefront of these advances by having the Valley's only Hemo-philia Treatment Center. The center participates in national research studies to keep abreast of new treatments. Now 11, Ian is able to prevent many bleeding episodes by taking an intravenous medication three times a week through a catheter device implanted in his chest.
The risk of HIV infection for hemophiliacs has been considerably reduced in recent years. In the past, the medication used was derived from the plasma of a pool of donors. "With every weekly treatment, hemophiliacs were exposed to the blood of 60,000 people," Lori explained. That's why so many severe hemophiliacs - about 80 percent - were infected with HIV in the early 1980s. In addition to a safer blood supply overall, hemophiliacs now have the option of recombinant DNA medication that doesn't rely on the human blood supply. Unfortunately, these advances don't come cheaply. Ian's medication alone costs $3,000 per week.
Just before his second birthday, Ian had his first severe bleeding incident. While taking a bath, he bumped his mouth and bit his lip. His parents couldn't stop the bleeding, and he was admitted to Phoenix Children's Hospital. Doctors explained that Ian had built up a resistance to the blood clotting factor he was receiving. Two units of blood were required to stop the bleeding. By that time, Ian had bled for nine days, and Lori realized how serious her son's illness could be.
Ian was given a substitute medication, but it wasn't nearly as effective. As a result, Ian had frequent bleeding episodes. After two more hospitalizations in less than two years, a PCH physician asked permission to try a new therapy. Through a central line, he gave Ian large doses of his original medication, in addition to the alternative. After about a year, Ian's body stopped fighting the factor to which he'd become immune, and he was able to go back to the more effective medication.
Ian is comfortable telling other kids about his illness when they ask about his medical bracelet. One of the most common misconceptions he has had to address are playmates' fears that if he gets hurt he will suddenly bleed to death. Hemophiliacs don't bleed any faster than anyone else, he explains. The problem comes with getting the bleeding to stop, and his medication helps his body do that.
Ian owes much of his knowledge to his mom, who is a nurse with the Hemophilia Treatment Center at PCH. He is used to being the "show and tell" portion of Lori's occasional presentations at Arizona State University's College of Nursing, demonstrating how he is able to give himself infusions.
For the first few years of her career, Lori resisted nursing assignments with hemophiliacs, feeling it was too close to home. Now, however, she realizes what an asset her experience is to others. Recently she was able to comfort a couple whose newborn son had just been diagnosed with hemophilia.
"I was handing the mom a tissue, and I flashed back to seeing myself in her chair, with someone else doing the same for me. So I told them I understood and pulled out a picture of Ian," she said. Seeing the healthy 11-year-old made them feel better.
And it made Lori feel pretty good, too.
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Candice Boggs - Candice Cares - CandiceCares.com - It's All about the Children
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