I magine coming home with your newborn and settling into your new normal. Through the sleepless nights, outfit changes and snuggles, you survive. You anticipate those first few smiles and coos, and you can’t wait to hit the milestones that every parent assumes they’ll witness. There are so many emotions, so many highs and lows. Now imagine your life turned upside-down because your child is sick. Your new normal becomes a nightmare. That’s exactly what Coleson’s family experienced. Coleson was 10 weeks old when his parents noticed he was sleepier than usual and wouldn’t eat. After a trip to the pediatrician, emergency room, and a medical facility close to their hometown, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a life-threatening disease that can lead to heart failure. With Coleson needing more intense care and what looked like a heart transplant at the time, his family chose to bring him to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where he underwent surgery to implant a Berlin Heart device while he waited for a donor. Coleson received round-the-clock care, and after 100 days he went home without the need for a heart transplant. Today he is a happy, thriving baby with a fully functioning heart. Coleson’s family credits the physicians and the workers at UPMC Children’s Hospital (and their faith) with healing their little boy, while providing them with resources that helped make their experience possible. Standing proud as a landmark in Pittsburgh, UPMC Children’s Hospital is leading the way in revolutionary healthcare standards and research practices as a nationally ranked Top Ten hospital for pediatrics. Coleson is one of hundreds of thousands of kids who received treatment this year in the state-of-the-art facility located in Lawrenceville. Understandably, receiving top healthcare can place an immense financial burden on families. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation was created to provide financial support for the hospital’s mission of improving the health and well-being of children, teenagers, and young adults. It is the sole fundraising arm of UPMC’s Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and its extensive programs include the following: • Child Life Program – providing art and music workshops, therapeutic play, special events, sibling support, and more • Injury Prevention – educating children and families about safety in the home, outside, at school, and everywhere else • Community Outreach – including the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, Family Care Connection, Child Advocacy Center, and others that provide critical medical services and preventive care to local kids and families • Cutting-Edge Research – providing funding for research that leads to treatments and cures for childhood diseases To learn more about how you can help support the mission of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, please visit their website www.GivetoChildrens.org.
Written by Christine Spicuzza, with contributions by Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh patient, Coleson
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