"When Pigs Fly"
In March 2009, my daughter Jaimee was a patient in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. During her stay she received get well cards from her brothers, other family members, and friends. Her brother Ben drew a get well card with a flying pig on the front, which caught the attention of the nursing staff and Dr. Semnani. What happened during those conversations will have to be documented by the staff but from what I understand the picture touched the staff because it represented the course of events ensuing from the hope of creating a pediatric trauma center.
My perspective was that the hospital staff had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing whatever it took to secure a new pediatric trauma center. Many people in the community as well as at the hospital doubted whether a pediatric trauma center could ever be possible. From what I heard, the staff frequently joked that “Pigs will fly if we ever get this trauma center.”
In the following weeks after our emotional departure from Northridge Hospital, Dr. Semnani, Jaimee's doctor, and Kathy Alfie, head of nursing, adopted my sons’ logo idea for their Power Point presentation’s. At Jaimee’s one-year anniversary luncheon on March 24, 2010 Dr. Semnani shared with our family how the flying pig had been incorporated into their meetings and other materials, from what I perceived was a comical approach to gain support for the PTC.
At an air show we saw Kathy who told us of a glass flying pig which was given to her as congratulations for becoming approved with California Children Services (CCS). This was the final OK to becoming a pediatric trauma center. "When pigs fly” began as a friendly joke among staff but turned into a triumphant symbol of real miracles at Northridge Hospital. Pigs flew!
No one thought Jaimee would make it through that first night-her entire recovery has been a living miracle. No one thought there could ever be a pediatric trauma center in the San Fernando Valley and yet we are experiencing that miracle first hand. Making miracles happen is what Northridge Hospital does best!
Mardee Jessop
Board Member
Northridge Hospital Foundation
