Ann Forsman Adams, 52, nurse who battled epilepsy while caring for infants with heart problems
Despite struggling with epilepsy for 20 years, Mrs. Adams led a busy life. She loved her family, friends, and her doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.
Ann Forsman Adams, 52, of Havertown, a nurse who despite her own 20-year struggle with epilepsy cared for premature babies with heart problems at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), died at home Monday, Feb. 12, of unknown causes.
The Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death was pending until the results of further studies are available.
Mrs. Adams worked in the hospital's Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, where she lavished care on some of medicine's most tiny, fragile patients. Many of the babies there are undergoing and recovering from heart repairs and transplants.
She also became a preceptor so she could train other nurses in the complicated infant care. At the height of her career in the 2000s, she supervised 40 team members.
She began her nursing career in 1987 at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, but moved to Philadelphia in 1991 to join the cardiac care team at CHOP.
Mrs. Adams was part of a CHOP team that studied, developed, and implemented protocols to reduce hospital-acquired infections and published a paper summarizing the results.
She was awarded the 2014 Caroline Langstadter Mentor/ Preceptor Award. The award given by Children's Hospital recognizes those who demonstrate key components of the role — being a teacher, clinical role model, consultant, and an advocate for enhancing another person's skills.
Last year, Mrs. Adams became a cardiac case manager for sick babies both in the cardiac unit and after they were discharged. She was working at CHOP until her death.
Many clinicians achieve success in their profession, but few do so while battling their own medical problems. In 1998, Mrs. Adams was diagnosed with epilepsy and adjusted without complaining to having as many as 50 seizures a month, said her husband, Carl Randall Adams.
Drugs failed to stop the seizures, so she was thrilled to learn that she had been chosen by a team of neurologists at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) to get an implanted Responsive Neurostimulation device.
The device, developed by NeuroPace Inc., of California, was implanted in her brain during three surgical procedures in 2014. The device continuously monitors brain activity, and when it detects an abnormal pattern, delivers imperceptible electrical pulses to normalize the activity before the patient experiences a seizure.
The implant reduced the frequency of Mrs. Adams' seizures by 60 percent, allowing her to work full-time, travel, and pursue hobbies.
"It gave her incredible confidence and a new life," her husband said.
Mrs. Adams accepted a request from NeuroPace to become an advocate for the device.
"She spoke at conferences and supported other epilepsy patients, as it was very important to her that others understood that you can lead a full life while living with epilepsy," her husband said.
Born in Wilmington, Del., she was raised in Swarthmore and graduated in 1983 from Swarthmore High School. In 1987, she earned a bachelor of science in nursing from American University in Washington.
In January 1995, while participating in a friend's wedding, she met Carl Adams, the wedding photographer. They had dinner on Groundhog Day and married the following year.
Both enjoyed restoring old buildings, so they purchased and settled into a circa-1900 home in Havertown. They raised two sons there.
"Ann considered herself blessed to live in Havertown and met many dear friends through her boys' activities," her husband said. She especially enjoyed soccer and baseball seasons.
Mrs. Adams was a member of the Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, where she was confirmed, married, and served as a deacon. She loved to participate in the fall fair, which raised money for the church. "She was known for her homemade lemonade," her husband said.
Mrs. Adams was devoted to family. She enjoyed spending time with "her men," as she called them, and her poodle, Maggie. She also treasured her friends and her doctors at HUP.
She enjoyed reading, music, doing crafts, Christmas movies, snowmen, antiques, and spending summers in Minnesota and the Poconos.
"She leaves the world a better place than she found it," her family wrote in an appreciation.
Besides her husband, she is survived by sons Henry William and Robert Quincy; a brother; two sisters; and many nieces and nephews. A nephew died earlier.
A memorial service and life celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, 727 Harvard Ave., Swarthmore, followed by a visitation in the church's Fellowship Hall. Interment is private.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Evelyn and Daniel M. Tabas Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia via https://give.chop.edu/page/contribute/cardiac-center.