I have a long history with Boston Children’s Hospital, from surgery just after birth, to raising money through Extra Life since 2016, to the birth of my niece, and – as of December 2024 – to working here full time on the Bloodmobile helping collect the blood used to directly support the kids at the hospital (95% of the blood used at the hospital comes directly from the Blood Donor Center and the Bloodmobile saving millions of dollars each year). Boston Children’s is in my blood – literally and figuratively – and any help you can provide makes a HUGE difference.
I was born on a Monday in November – Waaaaaaaay back in the 1900s – and after just a few hours it was obvious that there was something wrong with my lungs. By Thursday I was brought to Boston Children’s Hospital and was diagnosed with naturally occurring Congenital Lobar Emphysema and my parents were told that their newborn son needed to have part of his 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.
The surgery couldn’t happen before Monday, so the doctors and staff told my parents they could go home and be comfortable instead of being stuck in a hospital all weekend with nothing happening.
I was quarantined for the weekend (before it was cool). Friends and family came over to see me…through the glass door of the house. But no one was allowed in. Except the family priest, Fr. Ridgeway, who baptized me on my parent’s kitchen table in case I didn’t make it through the surgery. (Spoiler Alert: I did make it through)
We returned to Boston Children’s on Monday; Dr. David Tapper performed a partial lobectomy. It basically means they removed one of the three lobes on my left lung. Fun Fact, every time I see a new doctor and they’re looking at Xray’s, they’re amazed that my lungs expanded to fill the empty void. It’s also the leading theory on my asthma troubles.
Anyway, long story short (too late), surgery was obviously successful, and my parents and I were released 9 days later with a clean bill of health!
My parents always tell me how the staff and nurses and doctors there were so kind, caring, and supportive during a VERY scary time for the both of them. My Mom loves telling me how she was their second patient because they kept checking on her, and her recovery the entire time they were keeping an eye on me.
And you know what the most amazing part of my journey through Boston Children’s Hospital was?? Even though it was one of the worst times in my parents’ lives, that’s just another work day for all the doctors and nurses and staff who work at Boston Children’s Hospital. It’s what they do Every. Single. Day. And they’re saving lives for not just the children, but they’re also making sure families stay as families. They quite literally saved my life, and I’ll never forget everything they did for me and my family.
That’s why I stream for Extra Life. If you can donate anything, you’ll be helping save a child’s life, allowing them to have more smiles, more laughs, more birthdays, and maybe even become streamers of their own someday! Anything you can give makes a difference, and I’m living proof.
My “Hope” for Future Kids
In December of 2022 my story became 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 she was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and Boston Children’s Rehab Hospital for the first seven months of her life.
Olivia Hope is my new reason for raising money for kids who need help getting started in life. She’s home now, her trach has been removed and her throat is sealed so she’s breathing on her own. She still has the feeding tube, and struggles to eat like the rest of us since she’s never had the instinct of “being hungry” and putting things into her mouth, but even there we’ve seen a lot of progress over the last few months!
All I can say is, it’s because of her care team – the doctors, nurses, and staff from Boston Children’s Hospital and others all over the world – that I’m an uncle today. She’s had the best care in the world, and I have the most precious niece who gives the best lower-knee hugs a guy could ask for.
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