A Special Thanks,
by Laurie Potter

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped Mark and Me, and our Little Man throughout the whole process of sickness, death and healing.

We want to thank especially our families:

*Marshall’s grandparents, who were always there to lend a hand cleaning the house, making food, or entertaining the Little Man.

*Caroline (my sister) for coming up frequently and staying for long periods of time to help us and get to know and love Marshall the way we did.

*Tante Mariann for all the hugs, kisses, I love you’s, and the nights spent at our house – caring for Marshall and allowing us to sleep a bit!

*All the relatives, neighbors and our friends from Melrose Place for the meals that were made, the clothes and gifts that were bought for us, and for all of the cleaning in our house.

We also want to specially thank the health care professionals who brought us through this ordeal:

*Nancy from UMass/Memorial Home Health & Hospice – for being the kind, caring nurse that she is. We are appreciative and thankful for everything she did for us (there are too many things to list here!)

*All of the pediatric nurses who took care of Marshall during the weekend of his diagnosis.

*Kathy from Valley Child Development Center, who first noticed a problem with Marshall’s breathing and urged us to seek medical attention.

*Tara, the physical therapist, also from Valley Child, for helping us with positioning and massage.

*The Staff of Boston Medical Center – Dr. Steven Moulton who surgically placed Marshall’s g-tube, Ingrid, the Nurse Practitioner, and Nikki, Ellen & Kristin (the nurses) for taking care of him for the 2 days that we spent there.

*Dr. Janet Soul, Neurologist from Children’s Hospital, for knowing how to treat a terminally ill child and his family. (No thanks to the neurologist we used before we so fortunately found Dr. Soul!)

*Dr. Catherine Bearce Nowak, Pediatric Geneticist, and Lisa (the genetic counselor) for helping us figure out our genes, and what to do in the future, as we try to rebuild our family once again!

*Dr. Chung, Marshall’s pediatrician, for writing orders for Marshall and learning more about SMA, because of Marshall.

We also want to thank Mark’s co-workers for generously giving up their vacation days and funds for us.

There are also a few other groups that deserve recognition: The Clinical Dialysis Unit at UMass/Memorial, The Staff of Jack and Jill Preschool, The Staff of Hopedale Memorial Elementary School and Bright Beginnings Center, and The Staff of Uxbridge Public Schools for all of their continued support.

We want to thank 3 special friends for Marshall’s first bright star.

We want to thank Elissa Al-Chokhachy for the amazing opportunity that awaits us.

We would like to thank Jason Johnson for setting up and maintaining our website.

We want to thank Audrey Lewis and all of the folks at FSMA for working tirelessly to help find a cure for SMA.

We also want to thank all of the families who have sent us things to make caring for Marshall easier. They have also supported us and shared their stories to better prepare us. It has been a comfort to walk with some of these families. (The Cowan’s, The Reilly’s, The Webb’s, The White’s, The Baldwin’s, The Gaudreau’s, The Fimbel’s, The Stants’, The Lang’s, The Giroir’s, The McAdams’, The Brock’s, The Richardson’s and anyone else that I may have missed.)

We want to thank Pat Brown-Cuneo (aka Giggles the Clown) for her tireless work with our fundraiser events. We also want to thank the whole fundraiser crew (you are too many to list – THIS is a GOOD thing!)

We hope we haven’t missed anyone. And if we have, it was purely because there are SO many people to thank. We feel blessed to have each and every one of you. Thanks Everyone!

L, M, & M

 

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