Alyssa Bowen Dreams Of Going From Patient To Doctor

Alyssa Bowen, a 16-year-old Bothell High School junior who has been battling autoimmune disease nearly her whole life, remembers going to Seattle Children's Hospital as a young child over and over again as doctors worked tirelessly to try to make her better.

"I would cry when we would drive up to the hospital," said Bowen, who was diagnosed as a 4-year-old when her temperature spiked to as high as 105 degrees for three weeks. "There were so many doctors. They were all nice people and I liked them, but they always ended up poking and prodding me and giving me IVs. As a 4-year-old you don't understand what is going on."

The disease was so crippling that Bowen missed most of kindergarten, first, second and third grade. As she got older, Bowen said she learned that without her doctors she wouldn't have survived and thrived.

[Related: Denali Dash Raises $60,000 In Run To Benefit Seattle Children's Hospital]

"I feel like they are in a way kind of my protectors," she said. "They always end up taking care of me when I am so sick. They are so nice and supportive. They even give us their home phone numbers because they are so worried about me. We have called them at 2 in the morning and they have been there for us."

Today, Bowen is an active high school student on the tennis team who is able to cope with her disease. She credits her doctors with inspiring her to become a hematologist so she can help young children just as the doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital have helped her.

"Whenever you walk into the hospital and you see people going through the same thing you are, you can relate to them in a way that no one else can," said Bowen, who receives infusions once a month. "It would mean the world to be able to sit down next to them and tell them, 'I have been through this, too. I am here for you.' "

Bowen, who often reaches out to other patients she sees at the hospital, was on the stage at Redmond City Hall Campus Park thanking the hundreds of runners who participated in the Denali Dash 5K race and 1K Children Fun Run to raise funds for Seattle Children's Hospital.

This year, the Denali Dash, which is put on each year by Redmond, Wash.-based Denali Advanced Integration, one of the most highly respected technology solution providers in the country, raised $60,000 for Seattle Children's Hospital and for the hospital's Research Institute, which is working on cures for pediatric diseases.

Dr. Anne Stevens, a rheumatologist who has been on staff at Seattle Children's Hospital for 18 years, said without the support of organizations such as Denali children like Bowen would not get the treatment they deserve.

"We can't do it without philanthropy like this," she said. "The only way we can make this research and level of care happen is by the generosity of the community."

Stevens, who has been treating Bowen since she was 4 years old, said she has made great progress coping with her disease.

"She used to be in the hospital all the time," said Stevens. "Now she is a beautiful young adolescent who is blooming. I would love to find out what gene is causing her disease so we can go in and fix it."

Bowen is currently in a genomic sequencing research program. That kind of research, which is being done by Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, is providing hope for autoimmune disease patients.

"We have got to find some cures for these diseases," she said. "Most of our kids take five or six medicines. There is no end to it."

Seattle Children's Hospital is one of an elite group of hospitals around the country that is doing research and working to find a cure for autoimmune diseases. One of the big benefits of Seattle Children's Hospital is the amount of time doctors can spend working with children like Bowen.

"I never have to say, 'No, we can't afford that,' " said Stevens. "I never have to say, 'No, I can't fit you into my schedule.' If a child needs something, I get it for them. It makes me feel really good to work here. It gives me great pleasure to do everything possible for every child that walks in this door."

With a severe shortage of pediatric rheumatologists throughout the country, Seattle Children's Hospital has the biggest staff of them in the world, treating patients from as far away as Idaho, Montana and Alaska in addition to Washington state.

Stevens said genetic diagnostics are providing hope for patients like Bowen, who is an "amazing spirit" who has persevered despite her illness.

"She pushes through all of this," said Stevens. "She goes to school and plays tennis. She is very strong."

Bowen, for her part, said she has seen first-hand the miracle that is Seattle Children's Hospital. "I feel that as every year goes by I tend to get a little bit better," she said. "My doctors and nurses always find the best medications for me. They are always working towards the ultimate goal of curing me. And I feel that every year they are chipping away at that stone that is my illness. Maybe some day I can graduate college and become a doctor."

PUBLISHED OCT. 7, 2015