KU CONNECTION

Game show winnings used to adopt

When KU medical student Stacy Dashiell's husband won a sizable amount of money on "Wheel of Fortune," the couple didn't use it to repay student loans or buy a new car. Instead, the winnings went toward the cost of adopting a child with special medical needs from Vietnam.

"We felt the money was such a blessing, that we wanted to use it to make a difference," said Dashiell, m'07, who graduated May 20 from the KU School of Medicine.

Dashiell has cared for others throughout her life. She spent much of her childhood at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., with her sister, who suffered from spina bifida. Dashiell said that watching KU physicians treat her sister inspired her to pursue a career in medicine.

"What I saw, and what I want to emulate, were incredible interpersonal skills and the ability to help families make it through a very difficult situation," Dashiell said. "Those qualities made such a difference for my family."

Last fall, as she entered her senior year of medical school, Dashiell again had reason to appreciate those qualities as she and her husband, Christian, welcomed an infant daughter into their family.

Their daughter, Elliana, weighed about 2 pounds at birth, and the Dashiells knew little about her medical condition when they made the trip to Vietnam to bring her home. Nearly a year later, Elliana is small for her age but developing well.

"That sense of the unknown really gave me a greater respect for what a patient's family, and especially parents, have to go through," Dashiell said. "I really feel that it is helping me become a better physician."

Upon completing her residency, Dashiell said, she would like to practice medicine in an underserved area.

"Growing up in a small community, I can certainly appreciate the need for family physicians in rural Kansas."

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