Virginia Meyers Honored as Omaha’s Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s 2022 Take Steps Walk Honored Hero
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Ten-year-old Virginia Meyers is described by her family as being “a ray of sunshine since the day she was born." Despite having to deal with multiple health issues that began with febrile seizures as an infant, and later a diagnosis of indeterminate colitis (IC), Virginia has met every challenge with positivity and a “this-is-never-going-to-keep-me-down" attitude. That is why she has been named the Honored Hero of Omaha's Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCF) 2022 Take Steps Walk.
Virginia's ties to the Boys Town National Research Hospital began when she was just 3 years old. She was experiencing ongoing gastrointestinal issues required a colonoscopy. Though she had been receiving care from another local provider, her grandmother, Ramona Hernandez, a registered nurse in the Boys Town Hospital surgical center, recommended that she seek care from the talented team at Boys Town Pediatric Gastroenterology. Virginia has been a patient of Anna Trauernicht, M.D., ever since. In fact, it was Dr. Trauernicht who originally diagnosed her with IC.
Thanks to Dr. Trauernicht and Team Virginia, a strong group of family and friends who dove in to learn as much as they could about the disease to provide ongoing support, Virginia is now a strong, growing girl who enjoys playing outside, cooking, baking and spending time with family and friends.
“Virginia is the sweetest little human I have ever met," said her mom, Nicole Meyers.
Today, Virginia's customized treatment plan includes an infusion every seven weeks, and her last scope indicated that she is currently in remission. In addition to the care Virginia receives from Dr. Trauernicht, she also sees Boys Town Pediatric Neurologists, Shaguna Mathur, M.D., and Mohaned Osman, M.D., who provide care for her febrile seizure disorder.
Virginia's mom, Nicole, has worked in health care for the past 16 years. She shared that she cannot stress enough that parents must advocate for their children's care.
“The partnership between patients and providers is so important," said Nicole. “Our Boys Town team strategically plans Virginia's care and regularly pivots, readjusts and makes changes as necessary to ensure that Virginia always receives the care she needs."
The strength of that patient-provider relationship between Virginia and Boys Town is evidenced by the fact that, while most Honored Heroes establish their own Take Steps Walk Team, Virginia and her family decided that their place is on the Boys Town Walk Team. Together, they will help to raise critical funds to combat inflammatory bowel disease and improve the quality of life for patients.
On behalf of the entire Boys Town Family, we salute this year's Take Steps Honored Hero, our own Virginia Meyers. She inspires all of us with her kind and positive approach to life and we are honored to be joining her on this journey.
