Physician Stories
These stories are reprinted with permission from Mission From The Heart.
Denise Nassisi, M.D.
Words cannot express my gratitude to Dr. Tom Walsh. I am a physician and he saved my 13 year old niece Camille from losing her eye. The medication she received to treat her infection was developed as a result of his scientific work. In and of itself, the medical treatment that Dr. Walsh provided would be cause enough for me to be grateful. However, not only did Dr. Walsh provide cutting-edge world-class care, he was and has remained an incredible advocate and support to all of us throughout the treatment process.
I was devastated to learn that Camille had a serious fusarial fungal keratitis, the prognosis was grim and it was likely to progress to the need for enucleation or removal of her eye. I reached out to colleagues and physician friends for advice regarding referrals for another opinion and expert care. A physician friend recommended Dr. Walsh. I learned that he was one of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding fungal infections.
Dr. Walsh immediately responded to my plea for help and stayed in constant communication to come up with a treatment plan for Camille. He personally arranged for her hospitalization and gathered a team of experts to treat her. He was just returning on a train from out of town, yet he met us at the hospital emergency department late at night. Despite our worry, his empathy and support gave us comfort. After a discussion with me and Camille’s parents, he knelt down so that he could talk directly to Camille. He promised her that he would be there to help her no matter what, and indeed he was and still is there for her. That first night he stayed at the hospital all night, first until her MRI was done to be sure the infection had not spread to her brain and then to personally oversee that the medication drops were correctly administered by the staff. When her cornea unexpectedly perforated Camille needed an emergency cornea transplant on a Saturday morning. Dr. Walsh went to the operating room to personally make sure that the damaged cornea was correctly processed for fungal cultures.
Throughout Camille’s treatment including several hospitalizations and complications, Dr. Walsh provided compassionate care and served as advocate and liaison between the family and medical team. His medical expertise is unsurpassed and his dedication and compassion are amazing. Thank you Dr. Thomas Walsh.
Sincerely,
Denise Nassisi, M.D.
I was devastated to learn that Camille had a serious fusarial fungal keratitis, the prognosis was grim and it was likely to progress to the need for enucleation or removal of her eye. I reached out to colleagues and physician friends for advice regarding referrals for another opinion and expert care. A physician friend recommended Dr. Walsh. I learned that he was one of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding fungal infections.
Dr. Walsh immediately responded to my plea for help and stayed in constant communication to come up with a treatment plan for Camille. He personally arranged for her hospitalization and gathered a team of experts to treat her. He was just returning on a train from out of town, yet he met us at the hospital emergency department late at night. Despite our worry, his empathy and support gave us comfort. After a discussion with me and Camille’s parents, he knelt down so that he could talk directly to Camille. He promised her that he would be there to help her no matter what, and indeed he was and still is there for her. That first night he stayed at the hospital all night, first until her MRI was done to be sure the infection had not spread to her brain and then to personally oversee that the medication drops were correctly administered by the staff. When her cornea unexpectedly perforated Camille needed an emergency cornea transplant on a Saturday morning. Dr. Walsh went to the operating room to personally make sure that the damaged cornea was correctly processed for fungal cultures.
Throughout Camille’s treatment including several hospitalizations and complications, Dr. Walsh provided compassionate care and served as advocate and liaison between the family and medical team. His medical expertise is unsurpassed and his dedication and compassion are amazing. Thank you Dr. Thomas Walsh.
Sincerely,
Denise Nassisi, M.D.
Joseph Meletiadis, PhD
Dear Tom,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a research fellow at the Immunocompromised Host Section of Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute from 2003 until 2007 working under your guidance on several projects related with genomics, antifungal susceptibility assays and combination therapy for invasive fungal infections. My training during this period was very productive and crucial in order to become a Lecturer of Medical School in University of Athens, Greece.
Beside the professional achievement, this training was a life changing experience for me realizing how a goal, you believe on it, can power you with strength to overcome your human weaknesses. Your uncomplaining dedication in saving and in improving quality of patient’s lives was constant motivation for me to contribute the maximum of my efforts. Your broad knowledge of basic, applied and clinical science makes you a unique researcher and clinician, who achieved very successfully to bridge biomedical research and patient care like very few scientists. This knowledge was obvious in every meeting we had, where you helped me in designing experiments, analyzing results, exploring the implications for patients and opening new directions. Your research was characterized from continuity and completeness approaching the scientific problem from different aspects ranging from molecular to clinical studies. Your exceptional capabilities of multi-functionality, innovation and organization were very crucial in supervising efficiently and timely several projects with results that changed our understanding about fungal infections and clinical practice in treating effectively life-threatening fungal infections.
Most importantly, despite all these achievements and your enormous contribution to science and patient care, you remained a humble, modest, unobtrusive and still hard working researcher trying to achieve even more goals and saving more patients. Personal ambition was always subordinated to service of patient’s life. You are a perfect example how science should be combined with morality. It is still in my memory several discussions that that we had about bioethics in science and our duty in serving human life unselfishly.
You are a dedicated clinician, a unique researcher, and an exceptional person. Thank you again for your entire trust, help and teaching.
Sincerely,
Joseph Meletiadis, Ph. D.
Lecturer of Medical School,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology,
“Attikon” University General Hospital,
Athens, Greece
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a research fellow at the Immunocompromised Host Section of Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute from 2003 until 2007 working under your guidance on several projects related with genomics, antifungal susceptibility assays and combination therapy for invasive fungal infections. My training during this period was very productive and crucial in order to become a Lecturer of Medical School in University of Athens, Greece.
Beside the professional achievement, this training was a life changing experience for me realizing how a goal, you believe on it, can power you with strength to overcome your human weaknesses. Your uncomplaining dedication in saving and in improving quality of patient’s lives was constant motivation for me to contribute the maximum of my efforts. Your broad knowledge of basic, applied and clinical science makes you a unique researcher and clinician, who achieved very successfully to bridge biomedical research and patient care like very few scientists. This knowledge was obvious in every meeting we had, where you helped me in designing experiments, analyzing results, exploring the implications for patients and opening new directions. Your research was characterized from continuity and completeness approaching the scientific problem from different aspects ranging from molecular to clinical studies. Your exceptional capabilities of multi-functionality, innovation and organization were very crucial in supervising efficiently and timely several projects with results that changed our understanding about fungal infections and clinical practice in treating effectively life-threatening fungal infections.
Most importantly, despite all these achievements and your enormous contribution to science and patient care, you remained a humble, modest, unobtrusive and still hard working researcher trying to achieve even more goals and saving more patients. Personal ambition was always subordinated to service of patient’s life. You are a perfect example how science should be combined with morality. It is still in my memory several discussions that that we had about bioethics in science and our duty in serving human life unselfishly.
You are a dedicated clinician, a unique researcher, and an exceptional person. Thank you again for your entire trust, help and teaching.
Sincerely,
Joseph Meletiadis, Ph. D.
Lecturer of Medical School,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
Laboratory for Clinical Microbiology,
“Attikon” University General Hospital,
Athens, Greece
Deborah Lehman, MD
I am a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Over the past 20 years I have cared for many children with complex infectious diseases problems and I frequently seek advice from experts around the country. This past month I cared for a 6 year-old boy who was born without an ear and required a complete ear reconstruction. About a week after the surgery the ear became infected with an unusual fungus-Rhizopus. Because this was an unusual infection and in a very unusual situation and location, I contacted a colleague of mine who recommended I give Dr. Tom Walsh a call. Within about 10 minutes of contacting Dr. Walsh by email, we were on the phone having a conversation about the infection and possible approaches to this little boy’s ear. Dr. Walsh helped to guide me, as well as the ear surgeon, through what we hope will be curative surgery for this patient. Dr. Walsh was available to us around the clock (and with the 3 hour time difference this was sometimes very late or early hours for him!) He even participated in a conference call during the Super storm Sandy when he was operating with little electricity and as a part of an emergency rescue team for the City of New York! Dr. Walsh was a savior for all of us who were involved in the day-to-day care of this boy and allowed us to maximize our care for him. Dr. Walsh’s guidance, compassion and encyclopedic knowledge of fungal infections and antifungal therapies were instrumental to this boy’s recovery and I cannot thank him enough from the physician end for all of his help, insight and incredible availability. For this little boy and his family (and for the physicians caring for this complicated infection) Dr. Walsh was a life saver!
Dr. Keith Riley
Dear Tom,
I want to thank you personally for your help in managing my patients limb, and life threatening infection with Scedosporium prolificans. When my patient was first diagnosed with Scedosporium prolifcans osteomyelitis of his forearm in the summer of 2010 you provided immediate and expert guidance. Your unwavering help allowed us to obtain emergency and immediate FDA approval for the use of Miltefosine, as one component of a complex medical/surgical treatment plan. This treatment plan continues to be successful to this day. Your personal availability for my patient has been admirable. We continue to have frequent phone call conversations despite your busy practice. You have gone beyond “curbside” advice expected for any medical professional. Your integrity and compassion for the welfare of not only my patient, but for those whom you have provided care for during their struggles with serious fungal infections, appears unwavering. You have my deepest respect and admiration.
Without your expert opinion and advice, I have no doubt that my patient would have lost his limb.
Thanks for your leadership in developing a resource for the treatment of serious fungal infections. It is greatly needed. As an Infectious Disease Physician with decades of experience, when confronted with an infection for which I have little or no experience and there are no treatment regimens nor “guidelines”, having an expert resource available is invaluable and greatly appreciated. I am in strong support for your development of a center of excellence through which your expertise could be available to assist in the formulation of treatment plans for our unfortunate patients who develop life threatening fungal infections, either due to immune suppression or bad luck.
Respecfully Yours,
Keith B. Riley, M.D.
Infectious Disease
Northwest Permanente
Portland, Oregon
I want to thank you personally for your help in managing my patients limb, and life threatening infection with Scedosporium prolificans. When my patient was first diagnosed with Scedosporium prolifcans osteomyelitis of his forearm in the summer of 2010 you provided immediate and expert guidance. Your unwavering help allowed us to obtain emergency and immediate FDA approval for the use of Miltefosine, as one component of a complex medical/surgical treatment plan. This treatment plan continues to be successful to this day. Your personal availability for my patient has been admirable. We continue to have frequent phone call conversations despite your busy practice. You have gone beyond “curbside” advice expected for any medical professional. Your integrity and compassion for the welfare of not only my patient, but for those whom you have provided care for during their struggles with serious fungal infections, appears unwavering. You have my deepest respect and admiration.
Without your expert opinion and advice, I have no doubt that my patient would have lost his limb.
Thanks for your leadership in developing a resource for the treatment of serious fungal infections. It is greatly needed. As an Infectious Disease Physician with decades of experience, when confronted with an infection for which I have little or no experience and there are no treatment regimens nor “guidelines”, having an expert resource available is invaluable and greatly appreciated. I am in strong support for your development of a center of excellence through which your expertise could be available to assist in the formulation of treatment plans for our unfortunate patients who develop life threatening fungal infections, either due to immune suppression or bad luck.
Respecfully Yours,
Keith B. Riley, M.D.
Infectious Disease
Northwest Permanente
Portland, Oregon