Family of former CC patient and nurse support lung cancer research

It was a reunion of sorts for the Posey family from Austin who visited the Clinical Center on October 25. In 1958 at the age of four, Anita Posey was a patient at the hospital. Her mother, Lillian Posey, worked on the pediatric floor from 1963 to 1965.

After many years, the Posey family renewed their NIH connection in 2008 through a generous gift to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). Recently they made a second gift to FNIH in support of lung cancer research under the direction of Dr. Philip Dennis, head of the Signal Transduction Section, Medical Oncology Branch and Affiliates, National Cancer Institute.

"Connecting those who want to give back to NIH, like the Poseys, is one of the ways we make it possible for individuals to support NIH science and discovery," remarked FNIH Deputy Executive Director Ann Ashby.

The family's October visit was jointly organized by the CC and the FNIH. It included a meeting with CC Director Dr. John I. Gallin, a tour of the new Hatfield Building, and a meeting with Dennis.

On touring the new building and thinking back to the old, Andrew Posey noted, "It was very primitive compared to this." Mrs. Posey recalled that in former days each pediatric patient was in a room with an adult patient so the adult could keep an eye on the child. Parents were not permitted to stay in the rooms as they are today.

Anita suffered from failure to thrive. She was 25 pounds when she was admitted and underwent surgery to remedy her patent ductus arteriosus, a condition where abnormal blood flow occurs between two of the major arteries connected to the heart. Her procedure was done by Dr. Andrew Glenn Morrow, a pioneer heart surgeon and the first chief of cardiac surgery at the National Heart Institute, the precursor to today's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

"Nowadays it's a piece of cake surgery," Anita said. "But back then, no one was doing it."

The patient "blossomed," according to her father Andrew. Today she has three children and a grandchild.