Paradiso Insurance is always playing our part to help the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. We have had a tremendous response from our local community and thank them for their continuous support! Many people support who support our efforts ask why we have chosen the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center for our fund-raising efforts. The article below was written for Pediatric Matters through Connecticut Children’s. We would like to share with you just WHY we are so involved with the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
Care of Young Daughter at Connecticut Children’s
Leads Stafford Family to Get Involved
For any parent, the thought of a sick child can be scary enough. But what if everything you are doing to help your child get better is actually making things worse?
This is the situation the Paradiso family of Stafford, CT found themselves in approximately one year ago. After a peaceful weekend at the beach, Chris and MaryAlice Paradiso were woken to hear their one-year old daughter, Mia, screaming in considerable pain. When Mary Alice went to Mia’s bedside she found her daughter, who was recently given antibiotics for a cold, purplish red, with a fever of 104 degrees and her eyes swollen shut.
“I could feel the heat coming off her before I reached the bed,” said Mary Alice. “Because she was so young she couldn’t tell me what was wrong with her but it was very clear that this was something much more serious than a cold.”
Chris Paradiso rushed Mia to Connecticut Children’s, bypassing several hospitals on the way that were closer to the Paradiso’s home. “I know there are several good hospitals in the area that were closer to our house but the thought of going anywhere beside Connecticut Children’s never crossed our mind,” said Chris.
At the Medical Center, Mia was observed by a team of specialists who at first, were challenged to determine just what it was that was causing Mia’s condition. As Mia’s condition continued to deteriorate, her doctors began to focus in on a rare condition commonly known as serum sickness.
In its simplest terms, serum sickness results from a delayed immune system response either to certain kinds of medication or to antiserum. In Mia’s case, the doctors determined that Mia’s fever, swelling and skin rash were being caused by a form of allergic condition that resulted from the antibiotics that Mia was given to treat her cold. What makes serum sickness so difficult to diagnose is that symptoms of the disease typically don’t start appearing until 7 – 21 days after the medication is taken.
“It was a huge relief when we were able to find out what was wrong with Mia,” said Mary Alice. “The not knowing was the most nerve-wracking part of the whole ordeal. We were lucky that the doctors and nurses at the hospital were able to diagnose Mia as quickly as they did and they were great in sharing information with Chris and me to make sure we knew everything they knew.”
In fact, it was the care for the whole family at Connecticut Children’s that touched Mary Alice and Chris the most. “Though we only ended up staying for three days, everyone looked out for Chris and I as well as Mia. They knew right away when Chris and I needed a break and would volunteer to cuddle Mia and give us a moment alone.”
Mary Alice was also moved by observing one other girl who was being cared for on the same floor as Mia. “She had obviously been at Connecticut Children’s for a period of time and what struck me was that she was no longer just a patient, she was now a friend to the staff. I remember thinking, what a great place this must be for her to feel so comfortable.”
The Paradisos were both so moved that upon bringing Mia home from the Medical Center, they immediately decided they needed to do something to give back to Connecticut Children’s.
Last spring, Paradiso Insurance hosted a “Step Up to the Plate Legends Night Dinner” in Stafford. The proceeds of the event, which featured former major league stars from the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, went to benefit Connecticut Children’s. Since then, the Paradisos have also supported other events on behalf of the Medical Center.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to help see that other families have the same great experience we did with Mia,” said Chris Paradiso. “This hospital changes people’s lives every day; it’s a place that can never be taken for granted.”
For information about how you can get involved with Paradiso Insurance’s efforts to support the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, please give us a call toll free at 800-660-2991 or at our local number, 860-684-5270. If you would like to be involved in our Halloween program, gathering items for & assembling Halloween goodie bags to be distributed to the terminally ill residents of CCMC, be sure to contact us asap!
We are collecting:
- stickers
- erasers
- silly bands
- pencils
- small toys
If these items are not available to you at this time, donations may be made out to Paradiso Insurance FBO CCMC or “Paradiso Insurance for the Benefit of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.”
