Pediatric Patients Who Experienced Traumatic Brain Injury Gather To Celebrate Life
Families meet other families who experienced similar circumstances as patients are recognized
Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Dr. Michael Egnor and Pediatric Neurosurgery Department Nurse Practitioner, Nancy Strong welcomed their patients back to SBUH for a celebration of life on Feb. 21. The ceremony gave patients ranging in age from five to 20, a chance to meet others who have who had undergone decompressive craniectomy following traumatic brain injury, and to catch up with the different caregivers at Stony Brook who had taken care of them during their stay.
Dr. Egnor, a pioneer in performing an innovative form of decompressive craniectomy for pediatric patients with traumatic brain injuries, and Nancy Strong presented each patient with a plaque and medal, recognizing each patient for their recovery. The ceremony was attended by faculty and staff who provided care to these patients and patient family members who had an opportunity to get to know each other and talk about their experiences with each other. Two parents spoke of their experience in front of the group, bringing tears of empathy to the eyes of most who were there.
One family in attendance is a true part of the Stony Brook family. Jim Connolly, who works in the hospital Department of Biomedical Engineering and his family attended with their son and brother, 17 year-old Trevor. Trevor and his brother Shawn were both injured in an accident last summer, and both joined the celebration. we could not be happier that they were all with us for this celebration. A touching feature story about the event and the procedure was featured in Newsday the following day.
