Brigham and Women’s Hospital holds a special place in our family’s story. Our son, Benny, was born with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), an acute but treatable brain injury that can lead to a variety of challenging outcomes. In addition, shortly after being born he began having trouble breathing and had a cardiac arrest at less than 3 hours old. After being stabilized, he was transported to the BWH NICU, where he was the most urgent case in the unit on arrival. The nurses and doctors at BWH worked tirelessly to both ensure that his heart and lungs recovered and to treat the HIE using a relatively new treatment of therapeutic hypothermia. Benny spent 12 days in the NICU total and has since blossomed into a very active and curious toddler who is meeting all of his developmental milestones.

I cannot say enough good things about the level of care Benny received from the nurses and doctors at the BWH NICU (and the neurology team from Boston Children’s Hosptal). Not only was it clear that he received the best possible care, but everyone took the time to thoroughly explain his condition and his plan of treatment throughout his time at the NICU. The nurses and doctors were incredible not only in their skill in caring for babies, but also in their ability and willingness to explain and teach complicated medical situations to parents with both clarity and sensitivity. I feel very strongly that the happy outlook for Benny’s life that we feel today is due to the incredible people who took care of him in his first days. 

I am so proud to be fundraising with the Gains for the Gram team at the Boston 10k to support the BWH NICU. Thank you so much for your consideration (and any support) of these wonderful people and place!