PRESS RELEASE ABOUT OUR GRANDDAUGHTER'S DEATH AT ST. LOUIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

I read this statement recently (in fact, I have read this statement many times since the initial report was done in February by Sara Shipley of the St. Louis Post Dispatch): "Since their daughter died last spring, John and Oksana Rogers have become activists. They set up a website, www.daniellarogers.org, which documents their allegations. The family says that Daniella might have lived had Washington University School of Medicine properly informed the couple of the risks and monitored more closely for symptoms of the veno-occlusive disease. The university denies responsibility for the girl's death. "Can you really believe that Washington University would deny responsibility for a baby's death when, in fact, many other Children's Hospitals in the United States knew of the terrible disease, veno-occlusive disease, one year prior to Daniella's death at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Why, indeed, did St. Louis Children's Hospital not know of this disease?????

That, in itself, to me, describes the word, Irresponsibility! My husband and I were with Daniella many times on her visits to Children's Hospital as we witnessed the head nurse and Dr. David Wilson on different occasions examine our precious granddaughter.

It has come to our attention that many times after we left to go back to our home in Florida for a break, that Daniella was seen, not by Dr. David Wilson or the head nurse in charge of the study, but by a floor or unit nurse. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL US..........Are floor nurses trained in how to look for the terrible life threatening disease called veno-occlusive disease???? I THINK NOT!!!! This is just another example of that word "irresponsibility".

To St. Louis Children's Hospital I would say, "I believe you need to rethink how you treat precious beings like Daniella Rogers especially in your CHILDRENS ONCOLOGY GROUP COG D9803 STUDY FOR RHABDOMYOSARCOMA. Carelessness will get the organization no where and will certainly cause more deaths and many more lawsuits."

Mawmaw Rogers to Daniella Nadia Rogers

Martha J. Rogers

Ft. Myers, Florida