Connor
(A letter to the Team from Connor’s father)
I hope that you are doing well. I wanted to take a second to say thanks. I know you guys probably hear this all the time, but you and the rest of Dr.T’s team changed our lives forever. There is no way that I can possibly tell you in words how much you have enriched the lives of our family. More importantly though, you have no idea how much you will have improved the life of our son, Connor. He is absolutely the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. God made him perfect in my eyes and Dr. T made him perfect to everyone else. His work was truly amazing. I believe that Connor was his greatest work of art. Dr. T in my opinion is a brilliant surgeon. I am blessed that my wife, Melissa was smart enough to give you guys a call. It seems like forever ago when Melissa and I met you for the first time. I knew right away that you and Dr. T would give Connor the best care and the best surgical result. I was relieved to find you both.
This was one of the hardest experiences of my life. I only want the best for my son. As a father, my life now revolves around him. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for him. The idea that he would grow up looking different from other children was a painful thought. I am naive and still hold to the notion that I can somehow shield him from pain and suffering. Like I said, I am naive. Even though I couldn’t shield him from having to go through this, I found hope and faith that there are people in this world like the members of your team that would do all that they could to assist my wife and I in giving Connor the best life possible. The day that we met you and Dr. T was the most important day of our lives as parents. The experience was long and hard. At times it seemed like we would never see the finish line.
Though we still have more challenges to come, we have confidence that all will turn out alright. Connor is a happy boy. He laughs, he plays, he hugs, he kisses and he loves. He waves, “Bye Bye”, he plays with his mega blocks, he shares his snacks with the dog and he loves Sesame Street. He cries when he is sick, he gets into trouble and he wants everything he can’t have. He looks great in his PJ’s at night, he loves bath time and he loves when his mom and dad read books to him. He loves riding a tractor with his grandpa and cries when grandma goes home every day. He loves when his grammy sings, “Take me out to the ball game” to him. He is an amazing child. I am so proud of how strong and enduring he was through his surgeries. He was the strongest one of all of us. When we were tired and frustrated, he carried on and never stopped fighting.
As a man, I don’t know how I could ever measure up to my son. He is fifteen months old, and I already know without a doubt that he will be a much better man than me. That makes me the happiest person alive. We all are responsible for his greatness. You and Dr. T are a part of the list of people who have made him great. I hope that you will always know how important your work is to lives of people like Melissa, Connor and me. You bring so much joy and satisfaction to the lives of your patients. Again, I have no way to thank you enough. If ever you need a testament to new families who need reassurance, please feel free to have them contact me. I would be honored to share our experience with them. I welcome the opportunity to give back the support that you gave to us. God Bless you, Dr. T and all of your staff. Our love and prayers will be with you forever.
Sincerely,
Gary