The first time Brittany and Tyler Tomjanovich rushed to the emergency department with their 5-month-old son, Mason, a child life specialist met them at the door—with water, a sandwich and compassion. That small act, made possible only because of your support, began a journey child life would walk with their family every step of the way. Mason has had six surgeries, over 100 appointments and countless blood draws – but because of child life, he isn’t afraid.

Seven-year-old Alaina lives with an incurable heart condition—but with nurse navigator Eden Jackson at her side, she also lives with joy.  Generous support from people like you allowed us to recruit nurse navigators to guide families like Alaina’s through surgeries, tough decisions and daily uncertainties with compassion and strength.  Eden reminds Alaina’s parents that they’re not alone, and Alaina can focus on just being a kid.

Gloria began having terrifying seizures just weeks after coming home from the NICU. They grew more frequent—and more dangerous. When medications failed, surgery was her only hope. Because of you, UW Health Kids is one of just two Level IV Epilepsy Centers in Wisconsin—the highest level of care and technology available to empower Dr. Raheel Ahmed to perform lifesaving brain surgery—and give Gloria the freedom to smile.

Sean and Steve Eiles finally realized their dream when they brought their newborn daughter Ellie home after a long adoption journey. Just months later, they were blindsided: Ellie’s liver was failing; only a transplant could save her.  With generous support from philanthropy, we built upon the UW Health Transplant Center’s long-standing history to develop UW Health Kids transplant programs dedicated to caring for children so Ellie could receive the gift of life.

Since 1997, the Andy Stolper Memorial Scholarship Award has generously supported students in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Physician Assistant (PA) program. Andy passed away just before his 23rd birthday, but he lived his life as fully as possible. His inspiring journey led his mother, Judy, and her husband, Gene, to endow this scholarship in his honor to help other PA students achieve their goals.

Philanthropy helped bring visionary leader, Dr. Veli Topkara to Wisconsin. His expertise in heart failure and transplantation is advancing patient care, fueled by groundbreaking research and cutting-edge technology. With the support of generous gifts, we are paving the way for care innovation, providing hope and healing for patients today and generations to come.

Transplant recipients and their support person go through an extraordinary journey. A majority spend weeks away from home and expenses add up between time away from work and traveling to Madison for care. Extra support for hotel rooms and expenses not covered by insurance helps ease the burden.

A worried Isabella Hageman made the three-hour drive from Iowa City to Madison while her daughter Ali was being transported by Med Flight to American Family Children’s Hospital. Ali, just 2 ½ years old, needed a heart transplant. It would be 152 days—five months—until she was well enough to go home.

Your gift to support the Child Life program at American Family Children’s Hospital supports children and families in managing the stress and anxiety of hospitalization through 24/7 services provided by 20 Certified Child Life Specialists and additional team members.

“The Carbone Cancer Center and Dr. Paul Harari saved my life,” says UW–Madison alumnus and donor Marshall Flax. “And the vital research being done at the UW Department of Human Oncology not only helped me but will also make things better for future patients. If that isn’t a reason to give back, I don’t know what is.”

“By endowing a scholarship in our father’s name through the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Native American Center for Health Professions, which he avidly supported, we are proud to honor our father's legacy and his love for our university, this country, its people, and its natural resources,” says Jordana Lenon ’84, ’94.

Eastpark Medical Center will be a 470,000-square-foot, seven-story facility housing a variety of outpatient care programs including oncology and integrated specialty care for women.

Gary Grosklaus, after waiting for two years due to declining kidney function and managing Type 2 diabetes, received a simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant on February 20. This life-changing surgery, performed at UW Health, not only marked the 20,000th organ transplant milestone for the center but also freed him from the need for daily insulin injections and dialysis.

A pilot grant launched new research to explore how brain structure shapes language growth in infants with Down syndrome. Researcher Doug Dean, III hopes this will lead to improved therapies for children and better quality of life for kids and adults living with Down syndrome.

“The philanthropic support I’ve received has inspired me to give back during my career as a physician,” says third-year medical student Amelia Baltes. “If I can positively impact students the way that receiving this scholarship has impacted me, then I would be honored to provide exactly that for future Badgers.”

When his wife, Bonnie passed away from pancreatic cancer in October 2021, Dan McCausland wanted to find a way not only to honor her memory but show gratitude to the UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center team who treated her — especially the nurses who shared Bonnie’s dedication to the profession. That’s why he created a scholarship fund in her memory.

Dr. Dustin Deming understands when he meets a patient newly diagnosed with colorectal cancer how it will impact their life – because of how it has impacted his, twice.

Aleena Fietz is the second child to receive a heart transplant at American Family Children’s Hospital. While UW Health has been performing successful adult heart transplants for 50 years, the pediatric heart transplant program is in its infancy.

“I remember how excited I was to hang my stethoscope around my neck and listen to patients’ hearts for the first time,” says Catherine Ahern ’14, MD’21. “Medicine is so advanced from a technology standpoint, but a part of me loves how basic a stethoscope is and the usefulness of this tool even in today’s age. I hope to help the next generation of physicians feel welcomed into this community.”

Witnessing her father’s arduous journey through stage four colon cancer inspired Emily Schmitt MDx’26 to pursue an education in medical research and oncology. As the 2023–26 recipient of the Victor W. Gieschen MD and Barbara Gieschen Great People Scholarship, Emily is both grateful and enthusiastic about using her skills to improve the quality of life for her future patients.