Bree is a beautiful and smart two and a half year old girl. She was only a few days old the first time we went to Boston Children’s Hospital and only a few weeks old the first, of many, times that she was admitted. After a scary first few months of life, the team at BCH helped us determine that she had a swallowing disorder than affected her ability to eat safely and it also affected her breathing.
The doctors, nurses, feeding team, and support team that make up the Aerodigestive Team at Boston Children’s Hospital enabled us to care for our child and to ensure her medical needs were met while she continued to grow and develop. She’s hit all her major milestones on time and she’s been our little warrior.
At two and a half years old we still deal with frequent illnesses and the need for diet modification. Along with the BCH team, we look forward to her hopefully outgrowing this condition and going on to do big things in life.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
Brendan is five years old and has been a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital since he was an infant. Feeding Brendan has been a challenge since the day he was born. At six months old he slowly refused to eat, drinking eight or less ounce a day—the same amount that babies drink by 9 am.
He was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital three times in two months for severe dehydration and weight loss, and then finally a prolonged hospital stay for the entire eighth month of his life. It was during this time that we discovered how special this hospital really is. We receive the best possible care you could ask for and watched as our nurses and doctors worked diligently to figure out what was ailing Brendan.
In addition to being diagnosed with Failure to Thrive with a Feeding Aversion, Brendan was eventually diagnosed with a rare allergy to cow’s protein (milk) known as FPIES—Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome. Brendan was exclusively NG tube-fed for five months, and at age one, began intensive feeding therapy to teach him how to eat.
With the support of monthly visits to the Growth and Nutrition Clinic, guidance from his Gastroenterologist, Nutritionist, feeding Therapist, and Behavioral Psychologist, Brendan has grown and developed alongside his peers. He continues to receive weekly Feeding Therapy and Occupational Therapy to help teach his body and mind to enjoy eating.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
It was a beautiful summer morning and Bennett was doing one of his favorite things, kicking a soccer ball around the backyard. He took one unfortunate swipe at the ball, missed, and fell awkwardly. I didn’t think much of it—as the youngest of three boys, he had fallen MANY times before. This fall didn’t seem any more out of the ordinary than the previous ones. But he didn’t get up. And he kept crying, which was very unlike him.
I brought him to his pediatrician, convinced that I was overreacting and that he would walk once we got there. They sent me down for precautionary X-rays and told me that I could go home and wait for the results. Based on his calm—but whimpering—behavior, she was sure that it wasn’t anything too serious. Once his X-rays were done, the X-ray tech sent me immediately back upstairs to the pediatrician and told me not to go home. When I got upstairs, they brought me immediately into a room and showed me the X-ray. I nearly fainted. He had a complete spiral fracture of his femur.
Our pediatrician sent us to Peabody Boston Children’s Hospital, who sent us immediately to Boston Children’s Hospital. We were admitted and Bennett was put under anesthesia the next morning to have his spica cast put on. That was the beginning of his journey.
Throughout our stay at BCH the nurses, doctors, and the rest of the hospital staff were comforting, warm, and just so kind. They walked us through every aspect of caring for a child in a spica cast and made sure that we were comfortable with it before we brought him home.
At every follow-up visit over the course of our seven week spica cast journey, we were greeted with warmth and treated with compassion and patience as we navigated these very challenging weeks.
We are forever grateful for the top-notch care and the overwhelming compassion that we received at BCH.
Bennett is now on the mend and most of the effects of his broken femur are behind him. We are so grateful.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
When Patrick was born six weeks early he experienced trauma and the NICU team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital feared he would have swelling of the brain. Doctors from Children’s Hospital assisted those at Brigham and Women’s and immediately put Patrick in a cooling blanket to stop swelling from occurring.
During this emotional experience the doctors from Children’s Hospital were caring and thoughtful and spoke to use in a way that we could understand during the traumatic experience. Dr. Soul and her neurology team continue to follow Patrick and are pleased with the progress he has made over the last three and a half years.
At nine months old, neurology discovered that Patrick had an eye strabismus that would require surgical intervention. Dr. Dagi and her ophthalmology team from Children’s Hospital have worked to correct Patrick’s ocular damage for the last three years. We have been lucky enough to work with teams from Boston and the satellite locations for Patrick’s procedures. Every doctor, nurse, and medical assistant that we have come in contact with were not only wonderful with Patrick, but were helpful and comforting to the two worried and emotional parents watching their son go through the medical treatments.
Since birth, Patrick has also worked with teams from Audiology, ENT, Speech Pathology, and Orthopedics. Every single member of the Children’s Hospital team has been caring and profession and has made a dramatic difference in the life Patrick lives today. We will forever be grateful for the specialized care we have received from Boston Children’s Hospital.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
On March 31, 2018, we welcomed our sweet girl, Emery, into the world. After arriving home a few days later, we knew something just wasn’t right. We consulted with our pediatrician, who sent us to our community hospital. They were unable to definitively determine what was going on and Emery was transported by the Critical Care Transport Team to the NICU at Boston Children’s Hospital for further evaluation.
We were welcomed that evening by the most warm and gracious NICU nurses. Doctors were immediately brought in and Emery was sent for testing. It was determined that she had malrotated intestines, but that the severity of damage was not known. Those were quite possibly the heaviest, most heartbreaking words that the parents of a seven day old could ever hear.
Dr. Brent Weil and his team operated on Emery that night. After the Ladd’s procedure and appendectomy were complete, we were fortunate enough to learn that we were extremely lucky. Lucky that we caught her condition in time. Lucky that her intestines were still healthy. Lucky that we lived in such close proximity to an institution that could identify the issue and act so quickly.
Not every child has the same opportunity to receive such incredible care. Not every family is able to take their child home. For all of these reasons and more, our family is forever grateful to all of the nurses, doctors, and staff at Boston Children’s Hospital.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
Carter is 18 months old and has been a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital since he was six weeks old. Early feeding and swallowing complications and chronic upper respiratory issues landed us in the hands of the Growth and Nutrition and Pulmonary Clinics.
After many tests, procedures, and hospitalizations, Carter was diagnosed with a rare congenital abnormality called a deep laryngeal groove. This causes him to aspirate thin liquids into his lungs. With current support of the ENT Clinic and his Feeding Therapist, Carter has continued to grow and develop, despite needing thickened liquids to safely swallow.
We are forever grateful to this hospital for helping us diagnose and care for both of our children. They have supported our family in ways we never could have imagined. The true love and dedication to the children in their care makes this hospital stand out among all others.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
In December of 2017 our son Owen was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor. From the initial visit to the emergency room to pre-surgery to surgery to a post-surgery stay in the ICU, along with periodic scans and checkups, Children’s Hospital was incredible.
At each phase of his treatment and care, every nurse, doctor, and staff at Children’s was incredibly kind and understanding with our son. We put our son’s care in their hands and are extremely fortunate and blessed that he has made a full recovery and is a happy, healthy toddler today.
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
My youngest son Ty had frequent visits to the Boston Children’s Hospital Urology Department from the day he was born! At 2 years old, Ty spent 5 days at BCH where he had Bilateral Urethral Reimplantation. During his time there he received the most amazing and unbelievable attention from everyone.
Ty returned to BCH at 7 years old to have two large bladder stones removed and yet again they were responsive and informative from the minute he went in.
BCH sees Ty immediately whenever an issue may arise. Ty is now fifteen years old and happy to have one tiny scar left as a reminder that he had the best team of doctors looking out for him!
How can you support this hospital that takes such good care of our children? Purchase tickets to A Magical Night of Hope, buy raffle tickets at your school, and bid on on our online auctions!
Our fundraiser for Boston Children’s Hospital is less than a month away. As you consider how you may contribute—buying tickets and attending, purchasing 50/50 raffles at your school location, or bidding on one of our online raffles—we’d like to share some examples of why this fundraiser is so important to us.
Over the next week we will post seven real life stories—one each day—of children that are part of our program and have been treated at this amazing hospital. Seven days of sharing so you can see why we care. Seven reasons for you to help us reach our fundraising goal of $75,000 to benefit Boston Children’s Hospital.
A Magical Night of Hope began five years ago when we had two children, in the same preschool room, who were diagnosed with two different life threatening illnesses at the same time. Within weeks of each other, one child was diagnosed with Leukemia, and the second child was diagnosed with stage four Nueroblastoma. Boston Children’s Hospital saved their lives.
Since then we have had multiple children in our program diagnosed with cancer and other illnesses and treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. We are blessed to have such an amazing hospital and network of doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals at our fingertips. It is easy to forget that these unfortunate circumstances can hit all of us close to home.