For Baby Beau Dawson's first birthday, he's asking that instead of physical gifts, his friends and family consider donating to his colorectal team's foundation at Children's National Hospital. The team is always researching and testing new techniques and regimens to help children like Beau live normal lives. Some of these new techniques have already been used on Beau! By donating, you can help enable positive outcomes for Beau and kids like Beau. 

A bit about Beau:

Beau was born with something called imperforate anus which was not diagnosed until birth. In short, this means his colon was connected to his bladder and stopped forming at that point. He was born without an anal opening. In addition, he also has a very mild case of caudal regression syndrome. He is missing a portion of his sacrum, including his S4 and S5 vertebrae and his tailbone. We still don't know what this will mean for his future as far as nerve function but at this point believe it won't have any impact on his mobility. 

At 48 hours old, Beau had his first of what would be four total surgeries over the next few months. Our little guy is such a superhero! Beau will continue to see the Colorectal team at Children's National through his adolescence as they continue to work with him (and us) to ensure he can have the most normal life possible.  

Why we moved to Dr. Levitt's team at Childrens National:

Beau's diagnosis was a total shock to us at birth, and once we were on a path where we felt Beau was stable I started diving into research to learn all I could about his condition and how we could best advocate for him as his parents. I soon learned the world's leading expert in his condition was located not far from us in Washington, D.C. and had developed an entire Colorectal Center focused around children like Beau. Because children with Beau's condition need specialized care for a majority of their adolescence, I realized this may be worth looking into. 

Through an online group, someone shared Dr. Levitt's email with me. I emailed that same day with a brief explanation of Beau's condition, and to my surprise Dr. Levitt called me about two hours later and said "Jenn, this is Dr. Levitt! I just saw your email and had a few minutes. I wanted to call and talk about Beau". I started crying immediately and knew this doctor truly cared for his patients and we were in the right place! 

Dr. Levitt and his team are consistently researching and testing in ways no other colorectal center in the world does. In fact, during all four surgeries Beau has had with Dr. Levitt so far, there were different surgeons from various countries shadowing him to learn. 

What the Children's National Colorectal Foundation Does:

GOALS
To rapidly scale up and realize the full potential of Dr. Levitt’s vision, Children’s National seeks to foster strategic growth across three ambitious pillars:

• Revolutionize Patient- and Family- Focused Care by creating a centralized hub for the integrated treatment of patients with colorectal, urologic, gynecologic and GI motility needs. Bolster strong collaborations between a range of specialties and support services to optimize each child’s experience and long-term health. Integrate comprehensive behavioral and mental health services to support patient families.

• Create a Deep Bench of Clinical Specialists at Children’s National and Globally by developing a world-class clinical and academic program and serving as the international epicenter for education. Recruit, retain and develop physicians, nurses, fellows and other experts to meet the complex needs of patients today and train future generations of providers for the patients of tomorrow. The long-term goal is to replicate our multidisciplinary approach and model to ensure children with complex colorectal conditions around the world have access to exceptional care.

• Push the Boundaries of Discovery and Innovation by funding promising pilot projects that drive precision medicine and personalized therapies. Leverage and build upon our unique resources in the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation to ensure our providers have the latest cutting-edge tools and solutions to maximize the outcome for every child. Launch a research program to investigate the causes and treatments of these conditions and fuel clinical solutions.

Children's National Hospital has more than 50 pediatric subspecialties and is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for your generous donation.