HARTFORD
— Quinn Ostergren chose green for her first handprint, to match her dress. Then
she switched to blue, when she snuck up behind Connecticut Children's Medical
Center oncologist Dr. Eileen Gillan and landed a bright, child-size print on
the back of Gillan's white coat.
During
a signature handprint ceremony, pediatric cancer patients were allowed to paint
their hands and make a handprint on a white Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, including
Kiley Sullivan, 6, of West Hartford. Sullivan was diagnosed with
rhabdomyosarcoma in April 2014 and is in remission. (Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant)
Emma
chose red, Brady chose blue and John chose green Tuesday at a Hyundai Hope On Wheels
"handprint ceremony," during which young cancer patients planted
colorful handprints on a white Hyundai Santa Fe Sport — and
occasionally on their doctor's white lab coat. The ceremony celebrated
Hyundai's $50,000 2015 Impact Award to Connecticut Children's, which honored
Gillan this year.
Including
Tuesday's award, Hyundai
Hope On Wheels has donated $650,000 to CCMC since 2006 and just over $100
million to pediatric cancer research funding since 1998.
This
award, planned for infrastructure to build a comprehensive neuro-oncology
program, will help the program continue to provide "state of the art
treatment," Gillan said.
"We
want to treat every patient as if they were our own child," she added.
Ostergren,
now 5, has firsthand experience with this personalized treatment. She was first
diagnosed with a brain tumor in August 2012, and the cancer recurred a year
later. She finished 18 months of chemotherapy last fall.
"This
is not a journey anyone wants to go through, but we're so happy we could do it
here," Alyssa Ostergren, Quinn's mother, said. "They're not just
doctors, they're our family."
No comments:
Post a Comment