Connecticut Children's Medical Center

This post is long overdue, mostly because I'm just not sure how to put into words the eternal gratitude my family and I have for the staff at CCMC. How do you say thank you to the people who have committed themselves to the preservation of your daughter's life. How can you possibly articulate the overwhelming compassion, care and commitment that you feel from a group of strangers who's only connection to you is that they have committed themselves to making babies better and your baby is among their sheep fold. I wish I had the resources to bring all these folks together for some sort of recognition dinner. I wish I was in a position where I could introduce each and everyone of them to all of you who have taken the time to read up on my daughter's progress and pray for her. I wish I was the producer of some awards show where I could honor these folks and give them their day in the spotlight. Since the only mechanism that I have at my disposal at this point is this modest blog post I will take the time to say thank you and hope that these angels that live among us appreciate how grateful our family is for their professionalism and compassion. We have to thank the hospital administrators, security folks and catering for all of their support and assistance throughout this journey and in particular helping to make Ariella's christening a possibility and huge success. We want to thank the hospital's social workers, especially Priscilla and Jenny, who not only helped to facilitate the Christening, but continue to be a great resource for our family. We have to thank the occupational therapist that are working with our daughter to make sure she continues to get stronger and use her muscles in the hopes that she can do the unthinkable. We have to thank the respiratory therapist that worked so hard to clear up our baby's lungs and rid her of her secretions helping her get back to a place where she can breathe on her own once again. We certainly have to thank the doctors that care and serve as God's hands in healing our baby. I don't know how to best describe how wise and skilled and intelligent and insightful these folks are. Thanks to Dr's Achadi and Ionita from neurology, to Dr Lapin from pulmonary, to Dr Valdez from ear nose and throat, to Dr Rue from cardiology and certainly to the team of attending doctors in the PICU; Dr's Fisher, Comeau, Silverman, Banasiack and Zucker, the head of the PICU. You all have given our daughter another chance at life thank you all so much. There is one additional doctor I have to mention in particular. Dr Wael Sayej is a Gastro-internologist or GI doctor at CCMC, he was one of the first doctors to see our warrior princess and has cared for her every step of the way. Dr Sayej was there when left the hospital for the first time with an NG tube in Ella's nose so she could feed and get the nutrition that she needed. He performed both of her surgeries to insert the G-tube into her belly and than to switch the G-tube to the Mic-key button. Dr Sayej was even there the day after we got her diagnosis to hug us and cry with us. That's right this brilliant medical professional was human enough and loves our daughter enough to be vulnerable and show his emotions. To this day he continues to check on her, even though she is not technically his patient he and his cologne, which you can smell coming down the hall, hahahaha, still visits with our baby. And folks Ella is smitten with Dr Sayej. She smiles with him and reaches for his hand. She is definately one of his biggest fans. As you pray for the team here at CCMC please say a special prayer for Dr Wael Sayej and his family.

Rachel and I understand that there may be other facilities in the northeast or other parts of the country with more resources and perhaps access to more research and data on her particular condition. Believe me we are looking into some of that, but I am certain we will not find a group of nurses that are more skilled and more caring and do more for our daughter then the folks that we have had the tremendous pleasure of meeting, working with and living with for the better part of Ariella's life to this point. Our first introduction to these amazing people was the nursing staff and pca's on the six floor where Ella spent her previous hospital admissions. Lauren, Rachel, Nicole, Karen, Eddie, Cliff, Chayra, Diana and others thank you all so much from the very bottom of our hearts with all that we can muster. We will forever be grateful for the sacrifice and compassion that you have shown our family during this very very challenging phase. You breathe life and hope into us and into our little Ella. We will be saying thank you to you folks for a very very long time.

Now the sixth floor nurses are not to be outdone by the nurses and rt's in the PICU. To auntie Jenna, Ashley, Lynn, Agnes, Crystal, Seegee, Justin, Ken, Shirley, Geronimo and the rest of this amazing team God bless you all. A week ago my wife and I received about as bad news as any parents could and these angels, these saints, these heroes saw us through some very dark days to the point where our daughter is actually rebounding and living a miracle life.

In a time where Athletes are liars and cheaters, entertainers are selfish and full of pride, even our public servants seem to fail us; if you are looking for heroes, if you are looking for the kind of people that can be true role models you don't have to look much further than the frontline staff at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. To the nurses, personal care associates, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist, hospital administrators and doctors; on behalf of the Botts family and all of our family and friends we say thank you all so much. God bless you and your families.