The Catalyst Issue 20 | December 2014 | Page 17

college the way things are now ,’” says Mrs . Burnam . “ To hear her say that broke my heart , but it was true .”
A brave decision After discussions with her parents , Dr . Daniel , and Scott & White surgeon Samuel Snyder , MD , the 16-year-old Bethany decided , after a time of reflection and prayer , and with her parents ’ full support , to undergo surgery . “ At that point , it became really clear to me that surgery was the answer to our prayers that we ’ d been seeking , for me to have a healthy life and future . So it became a matter of when , not if ,” says Mrs . Vetters .
In the summer of 1990 , she underwent a two-stage operation called ileoanal anastomosis surgery , more commonly called “ J pouch ” surgery . Twenty-four years ago , this procedure , which spares patients from needing a permanent opening ( ostomy ) in the abdomen for emptying the bowels , was relatively new . Dr . Snyder had performed the first J pouch surgery at Scott & White several years earlier . “ The procedure , which can now be done in some patients less invasively than in 1990 , remains the gold standard of surgical treatment for ulcerative colitis today ,” says Dr . Snyder .
J pouch surgery entails removing the colon and rectum , while preserving the muscles and opening ( anus ) at the end of the large bowel . A J-shaped pouch , which holds waste , is constructed from the end of the small intestine and attached to the anus . A temporary ileostomy is constructed in the abdomen for eliminating stool while the pouch heals . After a few months , the ileostomy is removed , and patients can empty their bowels normally .
In June 1990 , Bethany sailed through the first seven-hour operation , and on August 20 she underwent the second procedure , in which the temporary ileostomy was removed . “ I still celebrate that date as a birthday of sorts ,” Mrs . Vetters says . “ I no longer had to take drugs and risk their side effects , suffer pain or bleeding , fear colon cancer , or always stay close to a bathroom . I always felt I was in the very best hands at Scott & White , and with Dr . Daniel , Dr . Snyder , and their team of medical assistants and nurses . All of the resources I needed from stem to stern were available to me under
“ I always felt I was in the very best hands at Scott & White , and with Dr . Daniel , Dr . Snyder , and their team of medical assistants and nurses . All of the resources I needed from stem to stern were available to me under one roof at Scott & White .”
— Bethany Vetters one roof at Scott & White .”
Before long , Bethany was back playing basketball , driving her first car , and living the life of a teenager . Her dream of attending Texas A & M University , like her sister , father , and grandfather , was realized . Bethany Burnam graduated with a business degree and spent several years working in California before moving back to Texas , where she now devotes most of her time to raising her two young children . “ The care I received at Scott & White opened the door for me to walk into my young adult years healthy and hopeful . Now , almost 25 years later , I ’ m married to my best friend , Thomas , and have two precious daughters who fill our lives with joy ,” says Mrs . Vetters . “ It is such a blessing to be cured , and I thank God for leading us to Scott & White for that so many years ago .” She is happy to hear that the new Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Marble Falls will open next year , helping patients just like her now receive care close by .
The Burnams share their daughter ’ s enthusiasm . “ We are so grateful to Dr . Daniel , Dr . Snyder , and Scott & White for restoring our daughter ’ s health and giving her a normal life ,” says Mrs . Burnam . “ My husband , Sam , and I are supporting the new Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Marble Falls so that other families in this community that we love can have access to Baylor Scott & White ’ s excellent doctors and services , as we did , but even closer to home .” n
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