The care that saved Clark’s life is shaping the future of neonatal medicine

Clark was only a day old when his family learned he had a 50-50 chance of surviving the ambulance ride to Children’s Health℠. Born with life-threatening complications that affected his brain, heart and lung function, he arrived at the NICU in critical condition.

With the help of a watchful team that monitored him closely at Children’s Health, Clark survived because of innovative care that gave his tiny body time to heal.

Now, his grandparents (whom he lovingly calls Janny and Po), are helping create a brighter future for kids like Clark through an endowment inspired by the care that saved their grandson’s life.

An unimaginable beginning

What had started as a regular birth suddenly turned into one of the scariest moments for Clark’s family.

Shortly after birth, physicians discovered Clark had severe meconium aspiration syndrome, meaning he had inhaled meconium — a baby’s first poop — and amniotic fluid into his lungs.

The lack of oxygen placed Clark’s brain, heart and lungs at risk and left physicians concerned about his condition.

The next morning, an ambulance rushed baby Clark to Children’s Health.

At the hospital, his care team connected him to ECMO — a lifesaving therapy that had previously only been available to older children — for about a week, giving his body the chance to heal and making sure he got the oxygen he needed. Two care team members looked after him around the clock.

---

Thinking about our journey makes me emotional. We couldn’t have had much better of an experience in the worst time of our life.

— Danielle, Clark's mother

---

After 40 days in the hospital, Clark grew strong and was able to go home.

“Now he’s a normal 3-year-old, running, jumping off walls,” his dad, David, said.

Clark’s legacy: supporting the future of neonatal care

Clark’s grandparents, Cary and Janice, were moved by the devoted, compassionate care their first grandchild received at Children’s Health — and the way his team extended that same attention to their entire family.

Around that same time, Cary was preparing to sell his manufacturers’ representative company, and he and Janice wanted to express their gratitude by giving back to the place that had made an incredible difference in Clark’s life.

“We’re so thankful that Children’s Health saved his life that we wanted to include the health system in our giving,” Cary said.

After discussing ideas with Clark’s parents, Cary and Janice established the Clark Dow Endowment for Neonatal Research — the first endowment of its kind for NICU research at Children’s Health.

“It’s about Clark,” Cary said. “We decided to set up the endowment for him with the idea that as he grows up, we could keep Children’s Health in his life, making it more of a legacy.”

At Children’s Health, research efforts focus on critical areas of neonatal medicine, including advancing treatments for brain injuries and developmental disorders that impact newborns; improving outcomes for congenital heart defects diagnosed in utero; and enhancing the use of lifesaving ECMO technology.

“There’s still a lot to learn and improve in that specific realm of care,” David said. “This is an opportunity to support precisely what we know saved our kid’s life.”

The endowment will help ensure future generations of babies have access to the same innovative, specialized care that gave Clark the chance to thrive.

As Children’s Health builds a new Dallas pediatric campus, which is being designed to foster innovation, collaboration and research to care for a growing number of children, Clark’s family is proud to invest in a future where more children can receive the same extraordinary care that saved his life.

“I just hope that they can save more lives like they saved Clark’s,” Janice said. “That’s really what it’s all about.”