(Press release)

Almost three years ago, Michelle Schwier’s life changed in the blink of an eye. Her daughter Anna was born premature and diagnosed with a haemangioma, a condition commonly known as a strawberry birthmark, in her trachea. At seven months old, Anna underwent a tracheostomy and developed pediatric tracheomalacia after the procedure. Schwier spent countless hours with her daughter at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth as Anna battled to survive. Anna continues to face complications, but the number of stays in the pediatric intensive care unit have reduced over the last year. The ordeal has inspired Schwier to study respiratory care at McLennan Community College.

“I had all my firsts with Anna,” said Schwier, who will begin her second year in MCC’s Respiratory Care Technology program next month. “My first semester was a breeze because I had personally dealt with all the situations.”

Schwier was honored last week as one of only seven students state-wide to receive a Marguerite Kageler Education Grant from the Texas Society of Respiratory Therapy for her scholastic achievement and outstanding research paper on pediatric tracheomalacia. Her paper ranked first among the 30 submitted for grant consideration.

The $1,000 grant was presented by the Respiratory Care Foundation of Texas at the annual meeting of the Texas Society for Respiratory Care (TSRC). The award honors the mother of Dr. Woody Kageler, former TSRC Medical Director and current Director of Health Sciences at Tarrant County College.

For more information about MCC’s Respiratory Care Technology program, contact Doug Gibson at 299-8369 or dgibson@mclennan.edu.