PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY
A highly specialized team of caregivers treats patients with a range of breathing problems, such
as asthma and cystic fibrosis. The life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis has grown from
about 20 years to the mid-30s and beyond, thanks in large part to the discovery of new types of
drugs to treat chronic lung infections and mechanical devices that help patients clear mucus from
their lungs. The Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Clinic team is a part of the international Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation that operates a therapeutic research network. It is hoped that one day patients with
chronic lung disease will benefit from further advances in patient care.
» Tanner Belanger AGE 20
A lifelong battle with a chronic lung disease has a team of caregivers cheering him on
T
anner Belanger, of
Lampasas, Texas,
was born at Scott &
White, played street hockey up
and down its halls, and slept at
the hospital on his prom night.
When he was 20 months
old, Tanner was diagnosed with
cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease
that shuts down the lungs’
ability to clear themselves of
mucus and infection. He weighed
just 13 pounds. Now 20 years
old, Tanner graduated from
Lampasas High School two
years ago with the help of his
“second family”—the nurses,
doctors, respiratory therapists,
and other staff on Scott &
White’s pediatric pulmonology
team. “They’ve known me my
whole life. They’re like family,”
says Tanner.
Tanner was frequently ill as
a baby. “If you look at his baby
calendar, every month I was
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taking him into Scott & White
for something,” says his mom,
Rhonda Coonrod. When he
contracted pneumonia in
both lungs, the medical team
decided to do some more
tests, and Tanner’s cystic
fibrosis was discovered. After
Tanner was diagnosed, he and
his family were able to manage
his cystic fibrosis well with
home breathing treatments,
antibiotics, and quarterly
trips to Scott & White.
His family has been
impressed with the care Tanner
received. For example, instead
of having a family member
manually clear his airways by
pounding on his chest and his
back, as they did when he was
younger, Tanner now uses a
vibratory vest that takes less
than half the time to complete
the treatment. “It seems like
they’re always coming up with
something new,” he says.
But as Tanner aged,
his cystic fibrosis needed
more attention, a common
progression of the disease.
Throughout his high school
years, Tanner alternated
between trips to Scott & White
to fight off lung infections and
his life as a varsity golfer at
Lampasas High School.
At prom time his senior
year, Tanner was in the hospital
again. But his pediatric team
worked out a medication
schedule so he could go to the
dance. “It’s part of life and they
didn’t want him to miss those
things. They worked around
it so he could do everything
everyone else did,” says Mrs.
Coonrod. During finals week,
the team rallied around Tanner
and helped him study. Tanner
was still in the hospital just a
few days before his graduation,
but the pediatric pulmonology
team worked to get him healthy
enough to celebrate. Debbie
Orlandi and Barbara Baugh,
Tanner’s first nurses, were
invited. “I tell the team I think
we need to put Tanner’s
diploma on the wall of the
pediatric floor because it’s
not just his. They got this
together,” says Mrs. Coonrod.
Tanner still enjoys playing
golf whenever he gets a chance,
but his disease has progressed
in a way that his pulmonology
team now recommends lung
transplantation. Tanner is listed
as a candidate for the surgery
at Baylor University Medical
Center in Dallas, in hopes that
new lungs will improve his
quality of life and he can
return to college at Texas
A&M University in College
Station, Texas. ★