There is nothing worse in life than having a sick child. I had two who were diagnosed at the same time. My son had Ulcerative Colitis and my daughter was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis. In my mission to find the best treatment and doctors for my children, I came across the most wonderful fellow, Dr. Z. Dr. Z was treating my son for Ulcerative Colitis. Sadly, Dr. Z completed his fellowship and left the hospital for a new job out of state. I was broken-hearted!

Fortunately, my son was cured. It wasn’t so easy for my daughter. I went from doctor to doctor. Years later, someone on a FB support group highly recommended a doctor at Cleveland Clinic. Surprisingly, it was Dr. Z. He had become the medical director of Cleveland Clinic Florida’s Liver Disease Program. Dr. Z and his nurse, Carla, have gone above and beyond in caring for my daughter. Words can’t express how much they saved my daughter, and me!

In 2015, my daughter was hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic, Fl. Her liver enzymes were extremely elevated. We thought that she might go into liver failure. I had just gotten a Golden Doodle puppy a few months before. When I asked Dr. Z if I could bring the puppy to the hospital for a visit, he loved the idea. He said that if anyone had issues with the puppy, they should deal with him. Fortunately, there were no issues. Every nurse and doctor that came in fell in love with our dog. From that moment on, she would grow to become an official therapy dog working with me as a patient advocate and geriatric care manager. She became a part of the wonderful volunteer program at Cleveland Clinic.

My daughter got better with medication and was released from the hospital a week later. My daughter who is now 25 (11 years after initial diagnosis of rare autoimmune liver disease) still suffers on and off from her liver attacking her healthy cells thinking that they are foreign. She is what you call in medical terminology, “refractory”. She once responded to traditional treatment then she stopped. She’s been in and out of hospitals from here to NY. Although looking at her, you would never know just how bad her liver is. Dr. Z and his nurse, Carla have been by our side no matter when and where we are.

Once when my daughter became sick at college, Carla called her parents (who lived close to the school) to go pick up my daughter and bring her home (over three hours away). Both Carla and Dr. Z not only care about their patients, they care about the family members just as much. I can honestly say that in all of my years that I have been in and out of doctor offices and hospitals (as a mother and as a professional patient advocate and geriatric care manager), I haven’t met a doctor and nurse who not only follow the “Hippocratic Oath” (This one stands out the most: “I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug,)” they go above and beyond that “Oath.” They are the reason I am “still standing” and not just standing, but they give me the ability to help so many others going through similar situations. It is my utmost goal in life to help others navigate through the medical system, to empower the patient, and to help the emotional trauma one goes through when a family member falls ill. I am forever grateful to Dr. Z, Carla, and the entire hepatology team at Cleveland Clinic. Both of my children were “saved” at Cleveland Clinic, Weston, Fl. I never drive by there or visit there without saying a prayer and giving gratitude to the “heroes” that work there.