Net proceeds from the sale of Hero Allograft are donated to charities benefiting children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Another Houston Make-A-Wish Child Had Wish Granted Because of Local Spine Surgeon
Hometown Hero Dr. Mike Leahy of The Woodlands Responsible for Over 55K Raised for Houston Make-A-Wish in The Last 6 months
Tomball, TX – June 19, 2014 — Spinal Elements®, Inc., a California-based spine technology company, announced that local Houston spine surgeon Mike Leahy, M.D., a leading Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon for multiple high school athletic programs in the community, and the first surgeon in Texas to join their “Pledge to be a Hero” program, is responsible for helping to raise over $55,000 for the local Make-A-Wish® Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana chapter to date. Dr. Leahy and Houston Make-A-Wish celebrated a very special wish yesterday that was just granted to a local Houston Make-A-Wish Kid, and presented its second check for $32,000 to the local Make-A-Wish® chapter. This is the second of many ongoing donations the Houston Make-A-Wish office has received because of Dr. Leahy. As more surgeons and hospitals use Hero Allograft, (of which 100% of proceeds go to children’s charities*), the money to Houston Make-A-Wish will continue to grow.
Margaret (Meg), age 8, of The Woodlands, was given her very own Hero cape at the celebration yesterday and was also presented with a full size poster full of photos of her Wish trip (picture attached). Her wish — to go to a black sand beach in Hawaii with her Mom, Dad, two sisters and one brother – has just been granted. She was honored by Spinal Elements and Make-A-Wish in a special “Welcome Home” cupcake ceremony. Jason Blain, president of Spinal Elements, local Make-A-Wish representatives and local hero Dr. Leahy were on hand to welcome Meg and her family home. Meg has malignant neoplasm of long bones of the lower limb. Meg had stated that her wish was to go to a black sand beach in Hawaii and to see a volcano because she learned about it at school and she wanted to go visit there.
The event was held yesterday at noon at the Texas Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Tomball.
ABOUT DR. LEAHY’S PLEDGE TO BE A HERO*:
Spinal Elements launched its national “Pledge to Be a Hero” program in 2012, offering surgeons and hospitals across the country the opportunity to pledge to use only allograft tissue from companies that do not profit from the transfer of that tissue whenever clinically feasible. Allograft is human tissue that is obtained by way of an authorized gift of a donor and/or their family, and can then be turned into scores of medical products. Every year, 1.5 million of these products are used in the treatment of American patients.
Spinal Elements chose to name its first allograft tissue product “Hero®” to honor those whose tissue donation made the gift of life possible. Although many companies earn significant profits from the sale of allograft, Spinal Elements has chosen to donate all profits from the sale of its Hero allograft to charities benefiting children with life-threatening medical conditions, such as the MakeA-Wish Foundation® and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Hero was launched in 2012 at the North American Spine Society (NASS) convention. Spinal Elements is endeavoring to donate over $1 million from net proceeds of Hero by the end of 2014.
BACKGROUND: The following link details why Spinal Elements created the “Hero” program and is donating 100% of their profits from this product to children, noting to date that Hero has helped raise over $400,000 nationally for children’s charities. https://www. orthospinenews.com/one-for-the-good-guys
About Dr. Leahy
Dr. Leahy is a renowned spine surgeon practicing in Houston since 2009. He currently serves several hospitals, including Humble Regional Medical Center, St. Luke’s Lakeside Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital at the Vintage. A native of Houston, Dr. Leahy is a leading Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon for multiple high school athletic programs in the community. Dr. Leahy is a graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and a graduate of Memorial High School. He and his wife Jay have two children, Andrew and Marlow Grace. https://www.tosm.org/MikeLeahy.asp
For interviews or more information, contact:
Laura Charlton (formerly Johnson) for Spinal Elements
laurajohnsonpr@yahoo.com
(760) 450-7749 cell
