By Evan Falchuk
That’s the headline in today’s Boston Herald. It tells the story of young Michael Sanders, who was born in 2007. Michael went home from the hospital but after a few weeks in which he didn’t seem right, his mom, Denise took him to the doctor. As the Herald reports:
A seemingly routine doctor’s visit brought devastating news: the baby had a fatal, congenital heart defect and just a few weeks to live.
“They said he would never, ever have a normal functioning heart,” his mother recalled, “and they said nothing could be done to fix it.”
The parents, Chris and Denise, got a second opinion from another doctor that supported the original finding. They didn’t have much choice. They brought hospice workers into their home, and started to make arrangements for Michael’s funeral.
At work, Denise had Best Doctors as an employee benefit. She decided to call and see if there was any hope, or if she really had to face the reality of her awful situation. “I was a little afraid to call at first,” she said, “but then I thought, at least it will confirm what I already know.”
After gathering and reviewing Michael’s records, Best Doctors consulted with Dr. Pedro del Nido, chief of cardiac surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. del Nido told them very unexpected news – Michael had been misdiagnosed. In fact, he told them, he could fix Michael’s defect and allow him to live a completely normal life. In May 2008, he had the surgery, which went extremely well.
Today, Chris and Denise brought Michael, now almost 3, to visit us at Best Doctors, along with Michael’s big sister Katie. Michael is a very outgoing and playful 2 year-old. He attends pre-school at his family church, where I’m told Michael was greeted as a hero on his first day of school. The community had rallied around young Michael after he was born and during his surgery and recovery, and so his arrival at pre-school was a milestone in the lives of so many people.
Chris and Denise both told me they don’t know why our paths crossed, Best Doctors and the Sanders family. We are honored that they did. And we are grateful that they came to see us today to share their story, and to give us a chance to meet them and their wonderful son. I know I am also thankful for the many people at Best Doctors that helped Michael through his journey, especially Helen Thomas, one of our member advocates.
It is a freezing cold day today in Boston, but not in the offices of Best Doctors.
Michael, earlier this year in Boston
UPDATE: The local Fox affiliate in Boston is covering this story tonight at 6. And the local NBC affiliate will have it on this evening as well. Video to follow.
UPDATE 2: A complete round-up of media coverage is here.
