Our Mission
To provide medical protection with safety
garments and other devices for patients,
while providing peace of mind for families.
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Summer’s Story
On October 13, 2006, at just 21 months old, Summer was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).
Because AML is fatal without treatment (and even with treatment the overall survivor rate is low), Summer began
intensive chemotherapy within hours of the diagnosis. The treatment process lasted over six months, with the
majority of the time spent in-house at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
As part of her treatment, Summer had a central venous catheter surgically implanted in her chest, through which,
she received her medicine and treatment. Less than a month into treatment, her father discovered that part of her central line catheter was getting twisted, which could cause the tube to break, and bring about serious complications including the need for additional surgery.
After several unsuccessful attempts by pediatric oncology nurses to find a remedy, the family realized they needed to design their own solution. During this time, Summer’s central venous catheter broke twice within two days.
(After three breaks surgery is required to implant a new central line catheter!) Summer’s mom, Andrea, contacted Karen, a retired nurse who is also a seamstress, and together they developed Summer’s Lifeguard™, a Central Line/Port Wrap.
The primary concerns were minimizing the risk of infection (due to no immune system) and avoiding additional surgery, by ensuring Summer’s central venous catheter was out of her reach. The unique design literally wrapped the lines of the central venous catheter around her body, with padding and soft fabric that coushioned Summer to make her more comortable and allowed for her mobility. Karen, as a nurse, added some unique features that provided easy access to the lumens for administration of medicine, and color coded tabs that matched the lumens for easy identification by hospital staff and caregivers. Four drafts later, the team finally settled on a design that met all of Summer's needs. And now they have designed a version that is universal enough to fit any child regardless of where their central line catheter is implanted on their chest.
Although Summer reached remission in May of 2007 and enjoyed a wonderful summer with her family, she relapsed in November 2007. Summer completed a bone marrow transplant in January 2008. She is facing many challenges, specifically chronic graft versus host disease (gvhd), but today she is a happy, active pre-schooler.
Due to the interest by other parent’s of critically-ill children and through the encouragement of the nurses
and doctors at Children’s Medical Center, Andrea and Karen have formed a company called Siya, Inc, located
in Texas.