Faces in the Town: Jen Chambers

For Jen Chambers and her daughter Calli, getting on Space Mountain in Walt Disney World is more than just a ride. It’s the culmination of a long journey.

Over the last four years, Chambers has injected her daughter with a growth hormone six nights a week in the hopes that she’d be tall enough to experience the same things most children enjoy.

“[Calli] handles it very well. She used to throw her hands in the air and yell ‘Watch me grow!” Chambers said. “It was amazing.”

However, had it not been for her relentless pursuit of answers, Space Mountain and other exciting adventures might have remained a dream rather than a reality for Chambers and her daughter.

Calli was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) as a 2-year-old in July 2007, but the road to diagnosis was a long and grueling one.

Calli was a healthy baby. She was 19.2-inches long and weighed 7 pounds. “Everything was going well,” Chambers said. However, six months later, Calli began spending as much time at the doctor’s as she did on the playground.

“She started getting these ear infections and started dropping on the growth charts,” Chambers said. As an 11-month-old Calli had an ear surgery, but unfortunately, her growth stalled and her health problems continued. 

Pneumonia and respiratory issues caused more doctor visits. “It was a consistent cycle of sickness,” Chambers said. The fast thinking and even faster talking 36-year-old said the pediatricians weren’t helping either.

Month after month, Calli’s situation stumped doctors. Chambers switched pediatricians twice to find answers, but got no solutions. She was consistently told she was overreacting.

“They said I wasn’t that tall and neither was my husband so that’s why she wasn’t on the growth chart.”

Despite going to pediatricians several times a week, Calli had gone from being at 50 percent on the growth chart to below 4 percent for her age.

“People were saying ‘Why do you want something to be wrong with Calli?’ But I think moms have instincts. I knew something was not right about her,” Chambers said.

Chambers began doing some research, and sought out the best endocrinologist she could find to see if Calli’s growth issues lied in some hormonal imbalance. Chambers self-referred herself to Dr. Debra Counts, director of Pediatric Endocrinology at University of Maryland Medicine, and tried to schedule an appointment.

“In November, I called to schedule, but they said [Dr. Counts] was scheduling in April,” Chambers said. But the next day, she got a call she’ll never forget.

Chambers was told that Counts had a cancelation and if she could be at the office in two hours, the appointment was hers.

“I almost cried,” she said.

She drove Calli to Counts’ office and learned after several meetings and tests that her daughter had GHD. “It just felt right, I knew she was our doctor. She was one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met.”

So at age 2, Calli began receiving nightly injections of growth hormones to increase he size.

“At the time of the diagnosis, Calli was about five inches below zero percent on the growth chart. She wasn’t even on the piece of paper,” Chambers said.

Four years have passed, and almost 1,252 shots later, Calli is at the 25 percent mark on the growth chart for her height and weight. She’s also more than 44-inches tall, meaning the now 6-year-old is ready to ride Space Mountain on her family’s vacation this fall.

If Chambers’ aggressive pursuit for answers wasn’t enough, she began hosting annual fundraising events as a representative for Major Aspects of Growth in Children (MAGIC) called “MAGIC Walks.”

Since her first event in 2008, Chambers, with the help of sponsors, has raised $45,450 for the organization that offers support and research for families affected by GHD and other conditions. She’s also brought in 423 people to participate in the activity over the last four years.

“People want to help other people they know and many people know Calli. They see her and what a great, beautiful and adjusted kid she is,” Chamber said.

“You want to do things you’re very passionate about and things you believe in. This is my thing.”