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Memorial |
Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039
On November 25, 2000, pediatric radiology lost a special friend and
colleague, an enthusiastic dedicated teacher, and a pioneer in Doppler
sonography.
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Heidi Patriquin was born in Germany at the beginning of World War II, survived air raids as a child, and, in 1946 after the war, immigrated with her family first to Switzerland and then to Canada, where she and her family settled in Montreal in 1952. She pursued her medical training at McGill University; she chose pediatric radiology as her career on the inspiration of her teachers, Scott Dunbar and Bernadette Nogrady, because, she said, they...
...practiced radiology very differently from my other teachers; they saw the children and spoke to the parents (this was at a time when radiology was still a gray specialty in a dark room).
She also made several visits to Dr. Edward Neuhauser's department in Boston and studied sonography there with Rita Teele. Subsequently, she studied pediatric sonography at Hopital des Enfants Malades in Paris.
In 1985, Heidi became interested in Doppler sonography and pioneered its use for studying pediatric diseases. "It seemed almost miraculous to be able to study intra—abdominal hemodynamics with such non-invasive technology." With this tool, she studied liver disease in children with cystic fibrosis, biliary atresia, tyrosinemia, and in North American Indians with cirrhosis, all of whom were being evaluated for possible liver transplantation. With Michel Lafortune, she published articles on the technique and on normal blood-flow patterns of the splanchnic and portal circulation. She was interested in renal disease and described alterations of renal blood flow and recovery in the hemolytic uremic syndrome, as well as the rapid recovery after renal vein thrombosis in infants. She applied the finding of pulsus tardus et parvus to the detection of renal artery stenosis in children. She received a research award from the Society of Uroradiology for her study of renal artery stenosis in an animal model.
She became interested in the work of Judah Folkman, Peter Burns, and Peter Wells on tumor vascularity and applied it to children with abdominal masses. She published articles about the high-velocity abnormal blood flow around the periphery of tumors and its decrease with successful chemotherapy. She also established a technique for detecting intratesticular blood flow in babies and studied the neovascularity of affected bowel loops in children with Crohn's disease. Her work in this area was recently published in Radiology (December 2000).
Heidi was fluent in German, English, and French and enjoyed traveling internationally and lecturing on pediatric radiology and Doppler sonography. She developed wide-ranging friendships with radiologists and clinicians on five continents. Her curriculum vitae was impressive, with more than 130 presentations listed. She authored or coauthored more than 80 articles. Heidi was involved in a number of radiology societies including the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) and the European Society of Pediatric Radiology. She regularly participated in the annual meetings of both organizations, served on the board of directors of the SPR, and was an honorary member of the SPR. In 1998, she received the Pioneer Award for her work in sonography. She was given the President's Award by the American Association for Women in Radiology, which her daughter, Lara, accepted for her posthumously.
Heidi enjoyed life and was very active in other areas. She loved music, playing the viola de gamba with friends, and singing in the choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Montreal. She was an athlete. She jogged regularly near home in Montreal and with colleagues at radiology meetings and even ran an occasional marathon. She rowed with a group of breast cancer survivors and participated in several competitions with her dragon-boat friends.
She was a lover of family and friends and was very proud of her best friends: her daughters, Karin, an architect in New York, and Lara, a radiology resident in Boston; and her son, Martin, a writer in Toronto. She and her soul mate, Michel Lafortune, enjoyed collaborating on sonography projects and traveling the world giving invited lectures in their areas of expertise.
Almost 7 years ago, Heidi was diagnosed with breast cancer of an advanced stage. The prognosis was poor, but with her dedication and determination, she pursued the latest therapy and was able to survive many years longer than expected. During those years, she enjoyed special trips with her family, saw the birth of a grandson Lukas, continued caring for patients, and traveled the world lecturing, giving her last presentation just 10 days before her final illness.
In a letter intended for her friends and family she wrote:
If I have known excitement of medicine, it is with your help, teachers, fellow radiologists and clinicians. Thank you. If I have known hope, it is because of your encouragement. This, because you are faithful, friends and family. Thank you.
Her unflagging optimism, energy, and resilience in dealing with her disease set an example for all those who knew of her illness. Knowing her has been a true pleasure for those of us privileged to call her colleague and friend.
The SPR Research and Education Foundation has established a grant in her name. Contributions in memory of Heidi should be sent to:
SPR Research and Education Foundationc/o IMM
4550 Post Oak Pl., Ste. 342
Houston, TX 77027
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