My History with Boston Children’s Hospital
When I was just a few hours old, I was diagnosed with naturally occurring Congenital Lobar Emphysema and I needed to have part of my lung removed. As you can imagine, barely recovered from giving birth, and then finding out your infant child needs surgery was a lot to handle for my parents.
I was rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) where the staff took one look at my frazzled parents, pointed to a wheelchair and told my mother that she was staying in that until we left, and whatever she needed to ask them and they would gladly get it. Not only did the doctors, nurses, and staff at Boston Children’s perform surgery on me, but they also checked on my mothers surgical recovery from birth. They carefully and fully explained the procedures both before and after my surgery. They even let us go home over the weekend in between the diagnosis and surgery. I was baptized on my parents kitchen table “just in case.”
This was one of the worst times in my parents’ lives, but we were all so well cared for, and everything turned out just fine in the end. The most amazing part of this whole story is how utterly unremarkable it is. This is the kind of thing that the doctors, staff, and nurses at Boston Children’s, and every children’s hospital around the world, do every single day. And it’s so important that we do whatever we can to help them continue that mission!
My “Hope” for Future Kids
Recently my story has become even more personal as I became a “surprise uncle.” My sister and brother-in-law welcomed their new daughter into the world in an emergency procedure three months before her due date and now she is in the Neonatal Intenssive Care Unit (NICU) for the next few months.
Olivia Hope is my new reason for raising money for kids who need help getting started in life. She’s not actually at Boston Children’s…she’s next door at a partner-hospital, but some of the treatment team are from BCH, which makes me feel better. And it is because of that care team, the doctors, nurses, & staff all over the world I’m an uncle today. She’s not out of the woods yet, but she has the best care in the world. I can’t hold her or even visit often, but I love her and can’t wait to let her know.
