Moms Making a Difference: Dr. Elfriede Pahl
April 8th, 2009 larryWelcome to the first installment of Moms Making a Difference. Each month we’ll introduce you to somebody in the Chicagoland area that you should know about who is helping make life better for families and their kids. This month, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Elfriede Pahl from Children’s Memorial Hospital. Dr. Pahl, a mother of three, is the Medical Director of the heart transplant division at Children’s Memorial. This is a large team of surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and doctors that help kids and their families find new hearts. Dr. Pahl’s specialty is providing the medical assistance needed before and after a transplant. We talked with Dr. Pahl about the state of the art of transplants, the current challenges in the field, things her kids do that drive her crazy, and things she loves to do with her kids.
Where did you grow up and go to school? I was actually born in Austria and my family emigrated here when I was one year old. Came straight to Chicago. I grew up in what is now Roscoe Village. It used to just be called Roscoe. I went to undergrad at Caroll College in Wisconsin. I went to Northwestern [medical school] and I’m still here. I have spent most of my career at Northwestern.
When did you know you wanted to pursue medicine? When I was 16. Believe it or not, I was talking to my dentist whose wife was a pediatrician. I liked science and I liked kids. I thought about being a kindergarten teacher. I just thought about the combination of working with kids and science and pediatrics made sense. I started volunteering at Children’s Memorial and it all came together. Nothing ever changed my mind.
What is your current specialty? I am in pediatric cardiology, heart transplantation. We do about 10 [transplants] a year. I am the Medical Director. The Surgical director actually performs the surgery. I decide which patients need transplants and after the surgery I follow the patient…We have a very large multi-service team that helps care for these kids.
What is the largest challenge for heart transplants for kids? Many things. The biggest challenge remains getting hearts for the kids that need it. Many patients die but the families don’t think it is appropriate to donate. And the other is that several years later the patient dies of rejection. I think our success with actually doing the surgery is wonderful. We have very capable surgeons. Most kids who get a transplant do very well and go home and the big challenge is staying healthy over the years.
What is currently being done to drive the rejection rate down? The medication we use now is better than we used 10 years ago. The medicine we used then was better than what we used 20 years ago. We are going to have better drugs, that are much more specific, with fewer side effects.
How does being a mother make you a better pediatric cardiologist? That is easy. I think I was a pretty good doctor before I had kids, but once I had my own children I was able to take the time that was needed, however much time it would take, to explain a complex problem. To sit with parents, if they were crying, if they were sad, to do whatever I felt was needed or sensed that they needed because…sometimes I take care of some very sick children and try to help families get through some very rough times…Especially when I take care of patients that are the same age as my children.
How does being a pediatric cardiologist make you a better mother? I think my children have learned what is important in life. Maybe I am harder on them than other parents are. When they have minor illnesses, I always minimize it and they call me on it. “Do I have to have something life threatening to get your attention. I can’t just have a pimple?” I will say to them “Get a Grip” this is not a big deal. It helps them appreciate what is important and what isn’t.
What do your kids like to do for fun that you hate? Loud music. I like classical music and like most parents that are middle-aged, I don’t like really loud music. They also like to watch some of these crazy TV shows. I have three daughters and next year I’ll have three teenagers and they’ll watch America’s Next Top Model. I hate that show. I don’t think it teaches girls anything important.
What do your kids like to do for fun that you like to do as well? Shopping. I am a typical girl. I am really glad I had girls so we can go shopping together.
What do your kids do with their father that you hate? They watch sports, basketball, football. I really don’t do spectator sports at all. When they have soccer on the weekends, Mike takes them. I’ll go to be supportive, but it is really his thing with them.
What do your kids do with their father that you told him not do? Nothing. He is a really good guy. I am the junk food junkie. He is usually telling me, “Why do you buy this stuff for them? You are the cardiologist.”
Any last message for the parents of Chicago? Let your kids figure out who they are. I try to spend as much time with them as I can. I work pretty hard, and I let my kids know that I love them, and that is what is important.