3rd Annual Knuckleball to Feature The Joe Niekro Humanitarian Award

The 3rd Annual Knuckle Ball…A Ptich for Life is jus around the corner.  With this year’s event fast approaching, there’s one man who will surely be in the crowd, Mr. J. Kent Friedman.

Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner J. Kent Friedman has been named the inaugural recipient of the Joe Niekro Humanitarian Award, honoring civic service to the Houston community.

“We are privileged to have Mr. J. Kent Friedman as the inaugural recipient of this award,” said Natalie Niekro, daughter of the famed Houston pitcher and president of The Joe Niekro Foundation. “The Joe Niekro Humanitarian Award honors outstanding commitment and contributions to the Houston community. Mr. Friedman is the epitome of what this award represents. It is with great pleasure that we recognize his service and dedication.”

Friedman is a longtime Houston legal, business and civic leader. He serves as chairman of the board of the Harris County– Houston Sports Authority, and serves on the boards of several charitable and corporate entities. Friedman has been recognized by several organizations for his community involvement, including the Houston Bar Auxiliary, which awarded him its Leon Jaworski Award that is given annually to the attorney inHoustonwho has done the most to make a difference in the community.

The award will be presented to Friedman at the third annual Knuckle Ball…A Pitch for Life event April 28 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. To learn more about the event and purchase tickets, visit www.joeniekrofoundation.org/knuckleball.

 

Surgeons Treat Brain Aneurysms Through the Nose

Surgeons have discovered a way to treat brain aneurysms through the nose

Traditional methods of treating a ruptured brain aneurysm usually involve pretty invasive techniques, such as removing a piece of a patients skull, but surgeons at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a new way to stop the bleeding – and they do it by going right through the nose.

In a report published in the March 2011 edition of the journal Neurosurgery, Dr. Anand V. Germanwala and Dr. Adam M. Zanation describe a case involving Alfreda Cordero, who was the first person to undergo this innovative surgery.

“It really pushes the entire field forward,” Zanation said in a news release. “This isn’t going to change all aneurysm treatment tomorrow, but it gets the ball rolling so we may provide an additional option to future aneurysm treatment.”

Instead of doing open brain surgery or endovascular coiling, which involves snaking a catheter through the groin up to the brain to stop the bleeding – surgeons opted to thread their tiny equipment through Corderos’ nose to reach the two aneurysms, which were located right behind her nasal cavity. The new approach is called “clipping the aneurysms through the nose.”

“It’s taking the best from the coiling procedure, because it’s minimally invasive, and taking the best from the clipping procedure, because it’s more permanent — and putting them together,” Germanwala said. “We’ve proved that it can be done safely, it can be done effectively, and we can treat multiple aneurysms. It is something we can certainly consider in the future.”

Two years later, Cordero is healthy, and the surgeons consider the procedure a great success. “Her recovery was remarkable,” Germanwala added.

A brain aneurysm occurs when there is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain, and it often looks like “a berry hanging on a stem.”

And while most brain aneurysms don’t rupture or create health problems, when one does, it can turn deadly very quickly. As for surgery through the nose, the surgical team has used a similar technique to treat brain tumors, but never for a ruptured aneurysm.

To view Corderos’ story, click here.

The Reoccurence of an Aneurysm

Everyday The Joe Niekro Foundation receives emails with medical questions from patients who are seeking some guidance.  I wanted to share with you a recent email we received and our response from our superior medical advisory board, as I know it will be useful to many of you.

Question: What is the reoccurrence percentage of an aneurysm and what symptoms should I
be worried about and seek treatment for? I still get bad headaches and neck pain and was told it was just a migrane.   It really worries me.  Please give me some advice on what to do.

Answer: The occurrence percentage depends on clipping vs coiling. Clipping recurrence is null (hate to say zero, but once you are clipped, the aneurysm is gone).  Coiling is different. You don’t ever have a ‘reoccurence’, but the coils could migrate toward the upper part of the top of the aneurysm, and there might be a small residual down by the neck.  If you had coiling, the Endovascular team follows patients consistently with MRI follow up and they would be able to tell if this is happening.

Re: Neck/heaches.  Very common!  Hate to say that, but it is!  You are not going crazy, it is a real pain. Lots of the post op migraine/headache pain that people tend to get is #1 if you had surgery and a clipping, it is usually nerve pain at and around the incision site. Medications like Topamax is a great medication for nerve pain.  If you just got clipped or coiled, another reason for headache/neck pain is the flow of blood is rerouting itself. It used to be able to sneak in and out of the aneurysm.  Now that “highway” is blocked off with a clip or with coils, so the blood needs to reroute its direction and that causes headache pain.  The third issue is whether or not you have experienced a hemorrhage vs. elective treatment. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, a patient who has had a hemorrhage, will get headaches/pain secondary to the blood in the brain irritating the outside walls of the other vessels in the brain.

Headaches/neck pain can last a long time in some cases.  We would definitely recommend seeing a neurologist who specializes in headache/migraine/nerve pain. There are different types of medications besides Tylenol that can help you.  Obviously, I do not know the specifics about
your case directly, but my answers are for the average aneursym clipping/coiled cases.

Symptoms you should be concerned about…is a “THUNDERBOLT LIGHTENING CLAPPING HEADACHE”.  One that brings you to your knees.  That would indicate a bleed.  But again, if you had intervention on your aneurysm, you are protected from a hemorrhage.

If you have questions, please feel free to email them to info@joeniekrofoundation.org and we will do our best to get them answered as quickly as possible.

Penumbra Coil Recall…Aneurysm Device May Migrate to the Brain

The FDA upgraded the recall of the Penumbra platinum coil for treating brain aneurysms to class I due to the potential for the device to detach and migrate, which can lead to stroke.  The Penumbra Coil 400, a medical device placed in the brain to treat an aneurysm, has been recalled because the device may migrate inside the brain, causing a stroke, blood clot or even death. 

The Penumbra Coil 400 recall includes 267 lots — F17211 to F18553 — distributed in February 2011, according to an FDA statement.

The small coil is placed into a brain aneurysm by threading it through blood vessels leading to the brain. Once in place, a clot forms around the coil mass, occluding the aneurysm and protecting the vessel from ruptures or leaks.

The recalled device has a pull wire attached to an included tool used to implant the coil. The wire can slip and allow the coil to detach prematurely, migrating to unaffected areas to potentially cause serious injury, including blood clots and stroke, the FDA said.

The coil’s manufacturer, Penumbra of Alameda, Calif., initiated the recall on March 4, 2011 notifying customers and distributors of the problem by mail, with instructions to return the recalled product to the company.

The affected product was half-distributed in the U.S. and half-distributed internationally, the agency statement said.

Class I recalls affect products with reasonable risk of serious adverse events or death with use.

Any customers with questions can call Penumbra, Inc. at 510-748-3224. Any health care professionals or consumers who have experienced an adverse event due to Penumbra Coil side effects should report it through the FDA MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

JNF and HCA Healthcare…a True Partnership

The Joe Niekro Foundation is thrilled to announce our new partnership with HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division.  This new found partnership allows for The Joe Niekro Foundation to continue with our mission of aneurysm awareness, aneurysm education, aneurysm research and aneurysm treatment for patients and families.  Over the years, The Joe Niekro Foundation has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to aneurysm research and that mission will continue.  The alignment with HCA Healthcare opens up the opportunity to provide support for patients and families of aneuryms victims.  The flagship program will start in Houston will the goal of nationwide support by the other HCA divisions within the next 3-5 years.  This initial venture will offer continued awareness throughout the state of Texas through support groups, awareness programs, educational intitatives and campaigning opportunities.  We are thrilled to be part of such a wonderful organization and look toward the exciting initiatives we will jointly promote in the very near future.

JNF Announces Partnership with the 2010 Arizona Fall League

The Joe Niekro Foundation will once again partner with the Arizona Fall League for the upcoming 2010 Winter season.  In addition to stadium banners that the foundation will receive, we will once again host Brain Aneurysm Awareness Week in which $36 for every strikeout during the week will be donated to the foundation.  This week alone raised over $11,000 for the foundation in 2009.

The banners at the various parks will promote The Joe Niekro Foundation and their Text to Give campaign.  A pre-game announcement about the foundation and the AZFL’s involvement will take place and periodic game announcements will be made attempting to get attendees to partake in the Text to Give campaign.  Just as last year, the AZFL will incorporate pre/post game announcements promoting the campaign and president of the foundation, Natalie Niekro will be on hand at various games to address the crowd and introduce the foundation to the AZFL attendees. 

The JNF is thrilled about this renewed partnership and looks forward to a successful and exciting Arizona Fall League Season.  So come out, support your favorite AZFL team and be sure to make a $10 donation from your cell phone while you are there.  To see this year’s AZFL schedule, click here.   We will see you on the field!

The Joe Niekro Foundation Gives Thanks

I just returned from Atlanta where the foundation hosted Brain Aneurysm Awareness Night at Turner Field.  I am amazed at the outpouring of support that fans across the country!  It is so encouraging to be greeted at the various baseball parks with such big smiles, encouraging words, support and love.  I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU!  Without all of you, this foundation wouldn’t be able to do what it is doing.  It’s because of YOU that we have been able to support aneurysm research, treatment and education across the USA.  We are gearing up for a huge Scientific Symposium that will take place the day of Knuckle Ball, November 13th.  This symposium will feature neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuro-radiologists and experts from hospitals all over the country who will come together to discuss the latest treatments, procedures and statistics on aneurysms.  This is a great breakthrough for the foundation and we are so excited to host this educational platform for those who excel in this condition every day. 

The Joe Niekro Foundation has such huge goals, but I am faithful and confident that these goals are well within our reach, because of the continued love and support we are receiving from people in every state of America.  Please continue to share the news of the foundation so that we can continue to help others, save lives and make a difference. 

Thank you everyone and God Bless the USA….the country of givers!

Text to Give Campaign Now LIVE

The Joe Niekro Foundation is excited to announce the international launch of our Text to Give campaign!  What this means for giving in the 20th century???  It means that charitable donations are now mobile, making giving quick, easy and accessible.  By simply texting the word STRIKEOUT to 20222, you can make a $10 donation via your cell phone, which will then be added to your mobile bill.  We recognize the importance of staying in touch with today’s technological advancements and want to make your support as easy as the click of a few numbers on your cell phone.  Just imagine the fundraising that can be made if we all hop on this bandwagon!!!  $10 may not seem like much with one donation, but multiply that by thousands, and we have created the plethora of resources that are needed to support the research the foundation is so vitally committed to funding.  Please join us in this fight, pick up your cell phone, send a STRIKEOUT to 20222 and make your $10 count.  Thank you for your support, giving and commitment to our mission.

NOW IS THE TIME…RETIRE #36

1980: Astros take Playoff with Dodgers, 7-1

By Bill McCurdy

 Texas Baseball Hall of Fame Induction, 2005: Artist Opie Otterstad, Presenter Greg Lucas, Inductee Joe Niekro.

 The date was October 6, 1980. By tailspinning into a three game sweep loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the West Coast, the Houston Astros found themselves facing the same club to break a dead heat tie for first place in the National League West. The winner would advance to play the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League pennant. The loser would go home to a winter of discontent that overflowed with thoughts of what might have been. Whomever advanced and then lost to the Phillies might surely do the same from a steeper cliff, but today the business was about winning the opportunity to simply try.

By an earlier coin flip, LA had won the right to be the home team n the event that the Astros and Dodgers ended up in a tie and needing a playoff. Their win convenient since the Astros were already in town, still trying to recover from dropping a three-game series that left them in a 92-70 identical finish with the Dodgers, but that didn’t make the game any easier as a proposition for the staggering club from Houston. Down hearts came out of the woodwork with their predictions for our Astros’ full demise, but there was no giving up in us hard-core fans, or in manager Bill Virdon, or in the Astros themselves.

Astros manager picked Joe Niekro (19-12) to pitch the biggest game in franchise history. Niekro would be opposed by Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda’s selection, Dave Goltz (7-10). By league rules, stats from the special playoff game would be included in the regular season team and individual records of each club. Therefore, the stakes for Knucksie Niekro of Houston were even higher. Houston’s first division championship, a shot at the World Series, and a second straight 20-win season were all riding on what he did on the mound this special day.

Houston got on the board early. In the top of the 1st, Terry Puhl reached first base on a leadoff E-4 and then advanced to third on a single by Enos Cabell. With Joe Morgan batting, Cabell then stole second to amp the Astros threat into a “runners at second and third with nobody out” situation.

After Morgan fanned, Jose Cruz appeared to reach on a fielder’s choice, but the play at the plate was muffed by the Dodger catcher, allowing Puhl to score. With Cabell now on third and Cuz on first with one out, Houston led, 1-0.

Cabell then scored on a Cesar Cedeno ground out to make it Houston, 2-0, but that would be it for the first stanza. An Art Hoe single would move Cruz to third, but Dodger starter Dave Goltz would pitch his way out of further harm.

After Joe Niekro retired the Dodgers in order over the first two innings, the Astros added two more runs in the top of the third to increase their lead to 4-0. They got those tallies with the old “Here’s Howe” recipe. After Cesar Cedeno singled and stole second, Art Howe went deep to push the comfort zone a little softer for pitcher Niekro, but nobody was taking anything for granted – not after the standings earthquake the Astros went through in their final series of the season.

After Niekro again stopped the Dodgers in the third, the Astros added a final touch with three more runs in the top of the fourth. After Puhl reached on a bunt single and steal of second, Cabell and Morgan walked to load the bases. Puhl then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Cruz – and Cabell-Morgan both tallied on a 2-rbi single by Art Howe. Four rib-eyes? Here’s Howe! Going to the bottom of the 4th, it was Houston 7 – Los Angeles 0.

The Dodgers broke up the shutout in the bottom of the 4th when Dusty Baker singled, moved to second on an error, and then scored on another single, but that wold be it for the day.The Dodgers threatened again by loading the bases in the 6th, but Niekro shut the door on any further scoring. Joe gave up only one more hit over the last three innings, a two-out single in the 9th, but that would be it for the Dodgers.

Joe Niekro (20-12) had pitched the Houston Astros to a 7-1, 6-hit, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, no earned runs complete game stop on the Los Angeles Dodgers, advancing the Houston Astros to their first regular playoff appearance in the NLCS. In the scheme of things, Joe Niekro had won the most important game in franchise history to-date and become the first pitcher in Astros history to mark twenty-win seasons for two years in a row.

What else does the guy need to do deserve having his number 36 retired by the Astros? Nothing. He already did it – a long, long time ago.

Roy Oswalt takes the mound tomorrow, Sunday, July 18th, with a better than fat chance of tying Joe Niekro for the most franchise pitching wins at 144. If the rotation holds and Roy isn’t traded earlier than the July 31st deadline, Oswalt will get two additional starts at home to either tie or break the Niekro 144 mark against the Reds July 24th and then against the Brewers on July 30th.

Now is the time to act. When something is the right thing to do, now is always the time for action. We just need to hear from the one person in this world who can make it happen as it should – and that man is Drayton McLane, Jr. So far, he’s batting 1.000 on the number retirements he’s called into history and this one is just as obvious. It just fell in the cracks during the John McMullen Astros ownership years and now needs to be restored to the light of its proper place of honor in franchise history.

If you support the hope that the Astros will see fit to retire Joe Niekro’s #36 now, please go to the primary column on that subject and post your strong opinion there. Here’s the link you need to get there.

http://bill37mccurdy.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/its-time-to-retire-joe-niekros-astros-36/

It’s Time to Retire Joe Niekro’s Astros #36

http://bill37mccurdy.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/its-time-to-retire-joe-niekros-astros-36/#comment-1016

Joe Niekro Has Been the Astros Franchise Wins Leader for 25 Years! His Total MLB WIns Exceed Those of 16 Great Starting Pitchers in the HOF at Cooperstown.

 

Joe Niekro Has Been the Astros Franchise Wins Leader for 25 Years! His Total MLB WIns Exceed Those of 16 Great Starting Pitchers in the HOF at Cooperstown.

 Sometime in the next couple of weeks, Roy Oswalt may tie and surpass Joe Niekro as the all time leader in pitching wins for the Houston Astros before he then moves on via a trade to a contending club. That trade may not happen, but it seems likely and right for all concerned at this point in time that it will.

 Whether the Oswalt trade happens or not, whether Roy breaks Joe’s Houston record before he goes or just stays, it’s high time we put the contributions of the late Joe Niekro in perspective and see that the time to retire his Astros uniform #36 is not maybe. Not ten years from now. Not five years down the road. But now. Right Now. 2010 Now. Before this season of so much good time to tend the garden of honoring our ball club’s past slips quietly into history. Now is the time to get it done.

 Most of you know the bare bones that support the body of work that qualifies Joe Niekro for the number retirement honor, but let’s cover them briefly for those who don’t know:

 (1) 144 Franchise Wins. In his eleven seasons as a Houston Astro (1975-85), Joe Niekro compiled more wins than any other pitcher in Houston MLB franchise history. Now Roy Oswalt stands right behind Joe with 143 wins, If Oswalt ties or breaks the record, he won’t be breaking a record that’s only stood for six months to two years. Joe Niekro has held the wins record for a quarter century – ever since he passed Larry Dierker for the honor in 1985 on his way via a deal that would send him to the New York Yankees that same season.

 (2) First Back-to-Back Twenty Win Seasons. Joe Niekro rolled in 1979-80. The crafty right handed knuckleballer, who mixed his signature pitch with an excellent fastball and tough change, became the first pitcher in franchise history to win twenty or more games in consecutive seasons. His 21 wins and 5 shutouts in 1979 both led the National League. His performance got him on the 1979 All Star team and his production won him the The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year for 1979 Award. He also finished second to Bruce Sutter in the Cy Young Award voting.

 (3) Joe Pitched Houston to It’s First Division Crown in 1980. After the Astros dropped their last three games of the 1980 season and fell into a tie with the Dodgers for the division lead in the NL West, Joe Niekro got the call from Manager Bill Virdon to pitch a one-game playoff in LA that would decide the division crown and send the winner on to the playoffs. Niekro gave up six hits in pitching the Astros to a 7-1 win and their first playoff appearance. Joe then defeated the Phillies, 1-0, in Game Three of the NLCS that the Astros ultimately lost in five outings.

  Phil Niekro, Bill McCurdy, Joe Niekro (2005)

 (4) Induction into Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, 2005. Joe Niekro was inducted into the the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, just a little more than a year prior to his sudden death from a brain aneurysm at his home in Florida. This is also around the time I got to know Joe a little personally due to my work at the time as Board President of the TBHOF. He was a fine fellow, as is his brother, Cooperstown Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. – For their careers, the Niekros are the winningest brother pitchers in MLB history. Both men excelled due to the knuckle ball pitch they learned from their father. Phil Niekro knuckled 318 career wins; Joe registered 221. Their total tab of 539 victories is likely to stand forever.

 (5) Joe Niekro’s Place Among the Pitching Greats of Baseball History. Here’s where we get into the less obvious reason why the Astros should honor Joe Niekro by retiring his number 36. Get this. - When you really look at the pitching record of Joe Niekro, you are looking at a guy who easily could’ve also gotten the nod for the Hall of fame at Cooperstown and joined with his deserving brother Phil. Joe Niekro’s 221 career wins for his entire MLB career (1967-88) are greater in number than the totals for fifteen predominately starting pitchers who did get the nod for induction into the HOF at Cooperstown.

 Again, Joe Niekro won 221 major league games – more than the following fifteen Hall of Fame starters: Chief Bender (212), Jack Chesbro (198), Stan Covaleski (215), Dizzy Dean (150), Don Drysdale (209), Lefty Gomez (189), Jesse Haines (210), Addie Joss (160), Sandy Koufax (165) Bob Lemon (207), Rube Marquard (201), Hal Newhouser (207), Dazzy Vance (197), Rube Waddell 193), and Ed Walsh (195).

  Will 2010 be Joe Niekro’s Next Rainbow Year? This time at Minute Maid Park?

 If Joe Niekro were alive today, he would be the first in line to shake the hand of Roy Oswalt for becoming the career leader in pitching wins for the Astros, if that is to be. Joe Niekro was all class. And he was an even greater pitcher than his lifetime acknowledgements reveal.

 It would be both fitting and an act of class for the Astros organization to retire # 36 before this season ends. Joe Niekro is not going to be any more deserving if we wait any longer. He’s deserving now – and he has been justly deserving for a very long while. It’s time to recognize him with the kind of honor that would really be noticed at this point in history. It would be a shame to go into the upcoming 2012 50th anniversary of the franchise celebration with #36 not already hanging from the rafters at Minute Maid Park – and waiting until 2012 is an embarrassing thought in itself.

 Please, Astros. Do it now. Retire #36 before this 2010 season ends. A lot of devoted Joe Niekro fans would show up for that one. There’s no question in my mind.

 While we are building for the future. Let’s stop long enough to honor someone appropriately who was a major part of our first winning taste of victory. His name was Joe Niekro. His number was 36.