Bobby Babbit with John Arnold, MD, co-director of ECMO and Nancy Craig, RT, ECMO reunion coordinator. Bobby's family surprised Children's with a generous donation for ECMO the day of the reunion. Click here to see more photos

ECMO Reunion

The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) program celebrated its 24th year with a reunion of families who've benefited from the live-saving heart-lung machines and the team who cared for them. Around 50 families came for the event. Nancy Craig, RT, the ECMO reunion organizer, praised the gathering as a chance for patients, families and staff to reconnect in a non-stressful setting. Every two years, the program aims to get all of the ECMO graduates back together for the reunion.

"ECMO is a very stressful procedure to be involved in, so it's nice for us to get to see kids healthy when they come back," Craig says. "And it benefits the patients and families to come back to this place under less stressful circumstances. They always want to thank the nurses, respiratory therapists and doctors who cared for them." Craig, who has worked with ECMO for 20 years, has some of her very first patients returning for the reunion. "It's really special," she says.

For some families, the event is a chance to reunite with other families who were at Children's at the same time. "Often times, families meet in the family room, start talking and get to know each other," says Craig. She mentioned three patients who were all on ECMO at the same time 14 years ago, whose families have all keep in touch. All three came to the reunion this year. "It recharges you," she says. "It's a happy event." One of the patient families, the Babbit Gagnon family, also gave a generous donation to support the ECMO program during the reunion.

In August, Children's ECMO program received the ELSO Award for Excellence in Life Support. The program was recognized for its education and mentoring program for new specialists, and for the center's ECMO simulation course that emphasizes role responsibilities, communication and crisis resource management across all critical care programs.

Sukkot Celebration

For the seventh year in a row, Jewish patients, families and staff celebrated Sukkot at Children's. During the seven-day holiday, a temporary Sukkah designed to let in rain was open for all to visit in the Fegan plaza. "You have to be able to see the stars," says Rabbi Susan Harris. "It's not what we usually think of as a shelter, and yet it actually emphasizes what's most important—the shelter of each other and the shelter of the Divine Presence."

One of the requirements of Sukkot observance is to "dwell" in the Sukkah. Harris says that has been interpreted to mean, at the very least, eating in the Sukkah. Some ate meals in the it, but others brought coffee, had a snack or just sat, enjoying the space. Many people help Sukkot be celebrated at the hospital every year. The Engineering staff has become experts at constructing the Sukkah. Children from the hospital not only contributed decorations, but also helped unload flowers, pumpkins and corn from the delivery truck. Volunteers contributed their expertise in coordinating the decorating and even brought more children's art from a local synagogue.

One of the goals of Children's is to make life as normal as possible for patients and families, since they're often far from home and disconnected from their regular routine. Having the Sukkah at the hospital offers Jewish families the opportunity to celebrate the holiday, despite the circumstances. "Being in a hospital actually illuminates the themes of Sukkot," Harris says, adding that fragility and connections to family are important aspects of the holiday.

Harris says she witnessed a touching moment this year when a grandmother, who didn't expect to be able to celebrate Sukkot with her grandson, took him down to the structure and spent time with him inside. It was his first Sukkot. Harris hopes that patients and families can remember their time in the Sukkah as a positive part of what can be a trying experience. "As the memory of the difficulties of being in the hospital fades, I hope the memory of being in the Sukkah will remain," she says.

Making art from hospital objects

Israeli illustrator Hanoch Piven recently conducted art workshops with Children's Boston patients. Piven, famous for his colorful collages made from objects, had patients use objects associated with the hospital, such as band-aids, gauze pads and surgical masks, to create their artworks. In doing so, Piven aimed to give more positive connotations to objects associated with illness.

Frat brothers get the ball rolling

This fall, Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity members rolled a six-foot-wide ball around Boston University's (B.U.) campus collecting signatures in support of Children's. As part of the Get On the Ball fundraiser, generous individuals and local sponsors made pledges based on the number of signatures on the ball. The national ZBT fraternity recently chose the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization that raises funds for 170 pediatric hospitals including Children's, as their national charity, and proceeds from local ZBT fundraisers benefit Children's. So far the B.U. chapter has rolled their way to more than $2,500, thanks in part to a donation from ZBT alumni Brett Catlin and David Stifter.

MEHC celebrates Latino Heritage Month

During a special ceremony in the Martha Eliot Health Center's foyer, staff recognized world-renowned Latino achievers who have made a positive difference in the world, such as music legend Carlos Santana, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Ellen Ochoa, the world's first Latina astronaut. Poet and Ambulatory Service Representative Carol Leggett read a poem she wrote for the celebration. Local music group Grupo Chevere provided entertainment while staff enjoyed a Latin-American themed lunch.

In addition, Ramonita Pedrogo, RN, presented Heidi Peña with a Latino Achiever Award. Peña has been with Martha Eliot for three years. She started her position as a medical assistant and now serves as a family planner and HIV counselor. "Heidi is always willing to lend a helping hand with no questions asked," says Pedrogo.

The pizza connection

Every Friday evening, like clockwork, delivery men from a local pizzeria deliver 20 large pizzas and a salad to the Patient and Family Resource Room on 6 West. As one might expect, within minutes the Resource Room is flooded with patients, families and staff from the Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant units. The Friday Night Pizza Party is the highlight of the week for many of the patients and families on these units (and employees, too.) It's a welcome change of scenery for many, and an opportunity for kids and families to connect to one another over a slice of hot, tasty pizza.

The Friday Night Pizza Party was the brainchild of a former oncology/stem cell transplant patient. In May, 2005, 6-year-old Connor Flanagan was diagnosed with Mixed Lineage Leukemia, a rare form of cancer. He spent most of the summer in the hospital and, in October, had a stem cell transplant. The Flanagans live in a tight-knit neighborhood, where every Friday night, families on their street take turns hosting a pizza party for the block. Spending so much time in the hospital, Connor missed out on these fun-filled evenings. One night, the neighbors brought the pizza party to Connor's room in the hospital. He thought it was so special to have the pizza party in his room, he told his parents he wanted to have pizza parties for all of the patients and families he spent time with in the hospital.

In August, 2006, Connor's vision became a reality when the Friday Night Pizza Party was launched in the Resource Room. The Flanagans, through the Connor Flanagan Foundation, organized a golf tournament earlier that summer to raise money to fund the pizza parties for the year. Since then, the parties have become such an integral part of the Resource Room that the Flanagans have continued their fundraising efforts to support the pizza parties. This year, they held their third annual golf tournament at Overlook Golf Course in Hollis, N.H., bringing their grand total of fundraising for the pizza parties to $45,000. To date, more than 2,300 pizzas have been gobbled down by the very appreciative patients, families and employees.

For more information about the Friday Night Pizza Party, contact Summer Menefee at ext.5-5645.

Blood Donor of the Month

Congratulations to the Children's Donor of the Month for November, Jim MacPherson. Not only is MacPherson an amazing cheesecake-baker and polish folk-dancer, he's also a dedicated platelet donor at the Blood Donor Center.

After donating blood at Mass General Hospital for years, MacPherson began donating at Children's in 1997 when a co-worker's child was undergoing back surgery and needed blood. After a few whole blood donations, MacPherson noticed the contraptions on the other side of the room and was told they were platelet machines. Donors can give blood, have it run through a plateletpheresis machine that only removes the platelets, and get the rest of their blood components back. Platelets are given to patients fighting cancer, many of whom need daily transfusions. He decided to give it a try.

Eleven years later, MacPherson continues to give platelets at least once a month. His reason for continuing to give is simple but important, "I have three healthy kids. I donate to help families that aren't so lucky." Last year, MacPherson was featured in The Holbrook Sun because of his dedication to donating blood for the patients at Children's. He encourages his friends and co-workers to give blood, and his message to those on the cusp of trying it out is: "Realize how lucky you are and donate to help those that aren't so lucky."

If you're interested in giving platelets, or would like more information on donating blood in general, call ext. 5-6677.