Dr. Kato removed six vital organs from seven year old Heather McNamara in order to get to and remove a “baseball sized tumor.” The patient was actually the recipient and the donor of her own organs. Heather is doing wonderfully and states that she can’t wait to get home to play with her sister Stephanie and her Pomeranian named Angel. While Heather’s dog is named Angel, this writer has the belief that the angel here is Dr. Kato.
Heather’s father was standing by in case his child needed any of his organs but that didn’t end up being necessary. Instead the surgeon, Dr. Kato and his team of surgeons removed the child’s stomach, liver, small and large intestines, pancreas and spleen in the same way they would have if the organs were going to be transplanted into someone else. They refrigerated the organs until it was time to put them back into little Heather after they removed the tumor.
The courage of children in cases like this is amazing and sets a wonderful example to all of us and shows that we must all accept the hand we are dealt and just adjust! Certainly not making light of little Heather and her illness, I feel the need to say, “thank you” to doctors all around the world who are the good ones. Change that, the great ones. Dr. Kato was quoted as saying, “This was a very high-risk procedure. It was a big responsibility. I was very nervous.”
The surgeon said the cancer had spread so widely that the child’s stomach, pancreas and spleen couldn’t be saved. In place of her stomach, he created a type of pouch from intestinal tissue to hold her food before it moves into the small intestine for digestion. The loss of her pancreas turned Heather into a diabetic and she will need insulin injections and digestive enzymes.
Without a spleen, a person faces more risk of infection. Heather can eat regular foods but will need to supplement them for a while with a pump worn in a school-style backpack. Dr. Kato said, “Afterwards, I was about to collapse. I slept for five or six hours on a couch.”
What an amazing, courageous, competent and humble man this Dr. Tomoaki Kato is. He is the epitome of the kind of doctor that we all pray will take care of our loved ones, should the need arise. Kudos to you Dr. Kato!
