![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/Tutu-girl-hospital-750x800.jpg\")
\u2018Calm and cooperative\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
Dr. Liao is a clinical associate professor at UT Health San Antonio and pediatric trauma and burn director at University Hospital. The surgeon remembers Brooke as exceptionally strong.<\/p>\n
Most 3-year-olds, Dr. Liao said, \u201chave a bit of stranger anxiety. Brooke never had that. She was very cooperative from the very beginning when she was incredibly sick in the pediatric ICU. She was unlike most of the other children we treat in that she was so calm and cooperative and, really, super-resilient.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point during a child\u2019s illness,\u201d she added, \u201cwe\u2019ll see what a mom would call a \u2018meltdown.\u2019 And Brooke never really had that. She was really a super-sweet child to care for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her parents described Brooke as tough, stubborn, headstrong and independent. \u201cI think that came across during her stay\u201d in the hospital, Justin Brady said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Liao applied a different term. \u201cWith Brooke, I think a good word to use would be fearless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caring for the whole person<\/b><\/p>\n
University Hospital is the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in South Texas. UT Health San Antonio trauma surgeons provide the highest level of care for injured children in partnership with the hospital. The approach is multidisciplinary, Dr. Liao emphasized. Surgeons, pediatricians, residents, psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, support staff such as Child Life specialists and the physical therapy team care for the entire person, not just the physical injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe realize that while there are visible wounds that we need to treat, there are these invisible wounds as well,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s where the pediatric psychiatry team comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n The first doctor that Brooke communicated with was a psychiatrist, Kim Brady said. He used play therapy and props to elicit dialogue and help Brooke deal with the understandable fear and stress, and haunting memories of With each passing day in the hospital, Kim and Justin Brady said, they grew more impressed with the caregivers\u2019 medical expertise, compassion and communication skills.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 5 or 6 a.m. every day,\u201d Kim Brady said, \u201cI\u2019d get awakened by the resident, just to give me a play-by-play of what\u2019s happening, what her numbers were from the night and our agenda for the day. And the nurses were awesome. We always knew what was happening, what Brooke\u2019s schedule for the day included.\u201d<\/p>\n When something like this happens, she said, it\u2019s difficult trusting someone to treat your child.<\/p>\n \u201cBut after the first meeting with Dr. Liao, I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want anybody else to touch her.\u2019 She just gave us so much information, so clearly, and in such a nonchalant way, like, it\u2019s going to be OK. It wasn\u2019t, \u2018Oh don\u2019t worry, there\u2019s nothing to worry about,\u2019 because it was something to worry about. It was her compassion and the way she explained it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe actually thanked us,\u201d Justin Brady said. \u201cThat last day she thanked us for allowing her to do her job. She\u2019s just a strong, focused woman and doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n A fearless future<\/b><\/p>\n Brooke, who turned 4 years old on Jan. 8, is back in her San Antonio preschool. She goes to physical and occupational therapy each week, and still sees Dr. Shah, the plastic surgeon, for scar management. She\u2019s still mentally processing and working through issues, Kim Brady said, but all things considered, it\u2019s a remarkable outcome.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom what we saw to what we have now, in Brooke, is just incredible,\u201d Justin Brady said. \u201cWe can\u2019t believe it. She\u2019s a little girl again, which is all we wanted. She has scars and stuff she\u2019s going to have to go through, but she\u2019s Brooke again.\u201d<\/p>\n And one more thing, Kim added. Brooke has decided she wants to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help people in the same way her doctors helped her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bravery comes in the shape of a preschooler in a pink tutu. The 3-year-old fought her way through countless surgeries after a vicious dog attack left her with near-fatal injuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":11382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,237],"tags":[77,241],"ppma_author":[278],"class_list":["post-11379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-winter-2019","tag-medicine","tag-trauma"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Brooke](\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/Tutu-girl-leaving-600x800.jpg\")
\nthe attack.<\/p>\n![\"Brooke](\"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/Tutu-girl-white-coat-800x700.jpg\")