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Zechia’s Story: Ready to Dance Again

Zechia Mickler has a smile that can light up a room, but severe leg pain sidelined the dancing and music-loving 11-year-old. Her parents remembered the advanced care she received as a toddler at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). At age 1, doctors surgically repaired a life-threatening diaphragmatic hernia that moved her lower abdominal organs into her chest. A decade later, her parents knew WMCHealth could help, again.

They left their Beacon, NY home to drive to the closest emergency room — Maria Fareri Children’s Healthcare Services at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY. Zechia was admitted, then evaluated by a pediatric orthopedist who diagnosed her with slipped capital femoral epiphysisa (SCFE). The painful hip disorder occurs when the ball at the head of the femur slips off. Emergency surgery was recommended and Zechia transferred seamlessly to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. A pediatric orthopedic surgeon used screws to fix the SCFE on the problematic hip and did the same, as a preventative measure, to the other hip.

Thanks to the continuity of care at WMCHealth, Zechia left the hospital pain-free, sporting her megawatt smile and ready to dance, again.

“Maria Fareri Children’s Healthcare Services at MidHudson Regional Hospital is a big deal! It’s great to know that you don’t have to go far if your child has an emergency and that WMCHealth is always there to help. They treat all the kids like their own. Please donate to help keep this service in the community for future generations,’’ said Zechia’s mother Donnalee Mickler.

More inspirational stories from Maria Fareri Childrens Hospital:

Maryann’s Story: Nurse, Patient and Volunteer at Bon Secours Community Hospital Says Local Hospital Benefits from WMCHealth Services

Maryann Ey was born at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis. In the intervening years she has been a patient, a nurse and now a volunteer.

Maryann said that she believes the significance of Bon Secours Community Hospital’s relationship with the Westchester Medical Center Health Network is important because the Network extends the local hospital’s capabilities by giving area residents access to broader resources for more advanced care.

“Support, gratitude and history – when I donate to Bon Secours Community Hospital, I support local healthcare and I share my gratitude with the staff. I also build upon my parents’ history of giving to the hospital,” said Maryann.

“My relationship with our hospital goes back many years. I was born here; I’ve received care here; I was a nurse here for nearly two decades of my 40-year nursing career. Now I volunteer here. I donate to the hospital because it’s one of the most worthy charitable causes in our community.”

Join Maryann and show your gratitude at Give.WMCHealth.org/BSCH.

Share your story at InfoBSCH@wmhealth.org.

More Inspirational Stories from Bon Secours

Camryn’s Story: Camryn Kellam Designated as Hospital Ambassador

Seven year-old Camryn Kellam was cheered by her family and her care team from Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital during a recent ceremony in which she was presented with an official sash designating her as a hospital ambassador for the Go the Distance Virtual Walk. 

Camryn was born with Sickle Cell Disease and underwent a successful stem cell transplant at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in March 2020. Camryn’s oldest sister, Skylar, 21, was her life-changing donor.  The transplant was successful and now Camryn remains free of the significant symptoms and complications associated with the disease.

Neurosurgical care at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital also is on the horizon for Camryn as physicians also diagnosed Camryn with Moyamoya Disease, a rare and progressive condition of tortuous (twisted) blood vessels at the base of Camryn’s brain. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Moyamoya Disease can lead to aneurysms, strokes and other serious neurological complications. 

Despite these challenges, Camryn is doing well and her spirits are high, which is why Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), chose Camryn to represent the thousands of acutely ill and injured children cared for by Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital each year.

Go the Distance is an annual walk and family day fundraiser for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. This is the 17th edition of the event that for the safety of participants will be conducted virtually. Families and organizations eager to participate are encouraged to walk a one-mile course of their choosing between now and November 7. 

Those who wish to create a team and support the advanced care mission of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital should call 914.493.2575 or visit Give.WMCHealth.org/GTD21 for team-building and fundraising instructions.

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is a Leading Research Center

Camryn’s stem cell transplant was conducted as part of a Sickle Cell Disease research trial led by Mitchell Cairo, MD, Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s Chief of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation. Study results reported in a peer-reviewed journal showed 100% subject survival and the elimination of symptoms and complications associated with Sickle Cell Disease.  That research trial is one of several studies on Sickle Cell Disease, pediatric blood disorders and cancers for which Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital serves as the lead research site. 

The Childhood and Adolescent Cancer and Blood Diseases Center at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, is an internationally-recognized, multidisciplinary diagnostic treatment and research center that extends comprehensive care while leading breakthrough research in cancer and blood diseases. Referring physicians or families seeking a consultation with one of the center’s cancer or blood disorder specialists should call 914.493.7997.

More inspirational stories from Maria Fareri Childrens Hospital:

After Successful Neurosurgery, Local Boy, 6, Appointed Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital Ambassador

VALHALLA, N.Y. (June 28, 2021) — Six-year-old Derek Blau of Nanuet was recently cheered on by friends, family and community members during a special ceremony where representatives from Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital appointed him as a hospital ambassador for the 17th Annual Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day. Derek was presented with an official sash designating him as an ambassador for the walk scheduled for Sunday, September 12. The annual fundraiser for the Hudson Valley’s children’s hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), regularly draws thousands of participants.

Derek was diagnosed with a chiari malformation, a structural skull defect that pushes a portion of the brain into the spinal column. The condition can result in pain, muscle weakness, breathing problems and other symptoms. Neurosurgery at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital helped relieve Derek of his symptoms, and now he is eager to support the hospital as a Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day ambassador.

As one of the Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day ambassadors, Derek will help represent the more than 30,000 seriously ill and injured children cared for by Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital annually. Those seeking to support Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital and its advanced care mission by participating in the Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day should call 914.493.2575 or visit Give.WMCHealth.org/GTD21.

About Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is the children’s hospital for New York’s Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County, Connecticut. Located in Valhalla, NY, this 136-bed advanced pediatrics facility cares for the region’s most seriously ill and injured children including those in need of cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, hematology and oncology treatments, organ transplants and other specialty pediatric services.  Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is also home to the area’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Level I pediatric trauma and burn care programs and its Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  For more information on Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, interested parties can visit WestchesterMedicalCenter.org/MFCH or follow the hospital at Facebook.com/MFCHatWMC and Twitter.com/MFCHatWMC.

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network


The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 12,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State, today WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org.

Stem Cell Transplant Patient, 7, Named Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital Ambassador

VALHALLA, N.Y. (August 2021) — Seven year-old Camryn Kellam who is doing well after undergoing a stem cell transplant during the height of the pandemic last year has been named an ambassador for Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital’s Go the Distance Walk.

The Fishkill girl was recently cheered on by family and representatives from Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital during a special ceremony where she was presented with an official sash designating her as a hospital ambassador for the 17th Annual Go the Distance Walk. The annual fundraiser for the Hudson Valley’s children’s hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), usually draws thousands of participants, but this year for the safety of all it will be conducted virtually. Families and organizations eager to participate are encouraged to walk a one-mile course of their choosing between now and November 7.

Camryn was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease three weeks after birth. In March of 2020, she was diagnosed with Moyamoya Disease, which is a narrowing of blood vessels in the brain. Complications from the two conditions necessitated a stem cell transplant and her oldest sister was her life-changing donor.  As one of the Go the Distance Walk and Family Fun Day ambassadors, Camryn will help represent the more than 30,000 seriously ill and injured children cared for by Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital annually.

Those who wish to create a team and support the advanced care mission of Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital should call 914.493.2575 or visit Give.WMCHealth.org/GTD21 for team-building and fundraising instructions.

About Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital

Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is the children’s hospital for New York’s Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County, Connecticut.Located in Valhalla, NY, this 136-bed advanced pediatrics facility cares for the region’s most seriously ill and injured children including those in need of cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, hematology and oncology treatments, organ transplants and other specialty pediatric services.  Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital is also home to the area’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Level I pediatric trauma and burn care programs and its Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  For more information on Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, interested parties can visit WestchesterMedicalCenter.org/MFCH or follow the hospital at Facebook.com/MFCHatWMC and Twitter.com/MFCHatWMC.

About Westchester Medical Center Health Network


The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with 10 hospitals on eight campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 12,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. From Level 1, Level 2 and Pediatric Trauma Centers, the region’s only acute care children’s hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, homecare services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State, today WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org.

Adell’s Story: COVID-19 Long-Hauler Patients Find Help at Westchester Medical Center

As New York faced the frightening initial wave of COVID-19 infection and illness in March 2020, Elmsford resident Adell Davis and her family were among those first to be infected with the virus. Adell, her husband Lemuel and daughter Crystal, all experienced an ominous litany of symptoms — including a loss of taste and smell. They made an appointment to get tested at Westchester Medical Center, in Valhalla, the flagship of WMCHealth. All three were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Frightened, Adell and Crystal turned to Adell’s primary care physician of 24 years, Carol Karmen, MD, of WMCHealth Advanced Physician Services, Internal Medicine, in Hawthorne. “It was fortunate that they had already established care with us,” recalls Dr. Karmen. “They were comfortable with me already. When they needed help, they knew where to turn.”

Although the family recovered from the initial infection, Adell and Crystal continued to suffer from long term symptoms including fatigue, headaches and hair loss. It was what has come to be known as COVID Long Haulers Syndrome, a condition where symptoms linger long after the initial infection subsides. Fortunately for the family, Westchester Medical Center was one of the first to establish a program to monitor and treat the condition. The Davis family is improving and has regular follow-up appointments as part of WMCHealth’s Post-COVID Recovery Program.

Reflecting on her experience, Adell adds, “I’m happy that we have such a great doctor who cares so much about us. Dr. Karmen is an awesome physician and a caring person.”

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More inspirational stories from Westchester Medical Center:

Jim’s Story: Retired Teacher Back to Active Life After Hip Replacement Surgery at St. Anthony Community Hospital

Last summer, orthopedic surgeon John M. Hardcastle, MD, received a photo of his patient Jim McIntyre atop Mount Yale, a 14,200-foot mountain in Colorado. This was just four months after Dr. Hardcastle replaced the 67-year-old’s right hip at St. Anthony Community Hospital, in Warwick, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).

McIntyre, a retired teacher, is active hiking mountains, climbing glaciers and sking. After experiencing severe hip pain, he consulted Dr. Hardcastle, who had been treating him for several years for osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease. “You’ll know when it’s time to replace your hip,” he had advised McIntyre. That time had come.

“Despite the pandemic,” says Dr. Hardcastle, “Jim was wise not to delay his care; many safeguards had been put into place to ensure patient safety.”

Shortly after waking from a minimally invasive procedure to replace his hip, McIntyre walked down a hallway with a physical therapist and a walker and then up and down a flight of stairs. “I was already in less pain than before I came in,” he recalls. “I felt better than I had in three years.”

“The staff at St. Anthony Community Hospital was tremendous,” he said. “Dr. Hardcastle is also an athlete, so he understands how important it is to get back to an active life. He’s a terrific human being and surgeon.”

More inspirational stories from St. Anthony Community Hospital:

Adam Magwood

Inspirational Stories

Hear from patients on their experiences with WMCHealth.

Chase’s Story »
Michelle’s Story »
Gregory’s Story »
Kaylee’s Story »
Agnes’s Story »
Sophia’s Story »
Roger’s Story »
Syndi’s Story »
Domenick’s Story »
Charlene’s Story »
Zechia’s Story »
Anna’s Story »
Maryann’s Story »
Ella’s Story »
Linda’s Story »
Brendan’s Story »
Adam’s Story »
Jim’s Story »
Adell’s Story »
The Russin’s Story »
Camryn’s Story »
Chloe & Contessa’s Story »
Wendy’s Story »
Donna’s Story »
Tom’s Story »
Lana’s Story »

Adam’s Story: 12-year-old Bike Accident Victim with Complications Grateful for Care at Maria Fareri

What started as a fun camping trip, ended as every parent’s nightmare for Michelle Magwood, whose 12-year-old son Adam had a serious bicycle accident during the trip. Miles from nowhere, Adam was unresponsive when an ambulance arrived and he was ultimately flown to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.  A team of critical care specialists cared for Adam during his flight to the hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), the region’s only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.

In addition to head trauma that required neurosurgical evaluation, Adam had a broken arm when he arrived at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital and was immediately admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Under the care of a team of specialists that included pediatric trauma specialists, Adam’s recovery rapidly progressed, but “something wasn’t right,’’ says Michelle. “His breathing was horrible.”

Tali Lando, MD, a pediatric otolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat specialist) on the team at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital suspected scarring in Adam’s airway was the cause and received approval from Adam’s parents to perform an emergency tracheostomy.

Within a few days following the procedure, Adam’s airway returned to normal, and within two weeks, the tracheostomy was removed.

“We were able to successfully manage what could have been a very dangerous situation,’’ says Dr. Lando. “His family was very grateful to the entire team.’’

For Adam’s part, he says he was very relieved that the ordeal did not affect his voice, since he loves to act.

“At first, I thought I was going to die,’’ recalls Adam. “Then, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to speak again, but now I’m fine. It was pretty traumatic. But it was such good care at the hospital. It was like a miracle. The hospital was really nice. You could tell they really care.”

Brendan’s Story: Young Stroke Victim Gets Second Chance at HealthAlliance Hospital

Brendan Fleming has a lot to be thankful for. The 23-year-old Mechanicville, NY personal trainer is in good health after suffering a stroke while at his grandparents’ home in Kingston.

Thanks to the quick action of his grandparents and the medical team at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, Brendan is doing well. The medical team at HealthAlliance Hospital — a designated Primary Stroke Center — intravenously administered a drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which can dissolve stroke-producing blood clots.

“It’s like a miracle medicine,” says Fleming, who was transferred to the intensive care unit at Westchester Medical Center for three days, and was attended to by Ellis Lader, MD, a cardiology and critical-medicine physician with the WMCHealth Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Ellis discovered that the stroke was caused by a congenital heart defect, which the surgical team at Westchester Medical Center was able to correct.

Today, Fleming is back to his regular routine and working once again. He is grateful to his quick-thinking grandparents, as well as to Dr. Lader and the staff at HealthAlliance Hospital and Westchester Medical Center for their life-saving care. “They were always there, being supportive of me and telling me everything would be okay,” he says. “They did a great job.”

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Linda’s Story: Retired Monroe Resident Finds Help for Irregular Heart Beat at Good Samaritan

Having spent 21 years in the fast-paced world of retail sales, Linda Brancato didn’t think anything was amiss when she began to have spells that felt like anxiety attacks. “My heart would race, and I’d get lightheaded and dizzy,” recalls the 67-year-old Monroe resident. “I felt like I had to hold on to someone or something, because I thought I could pass out.”

A cardiologist performed a range of tests and Brancato was diagnosed with or AFib, an irregular and often rapid heartbeat. But as it turned out, the standard treatment of blood thinning medications to prevent blood clots common with the condition were not appropriate for her. 

She soon learned about a procedure where a device called a Watchman is implanted in the heart to help prevent clots without blood-thinners. She consulted with Gunjan Shukla, MD, an electrophysiologist at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). “I left his office with a smile on my face, knowing I was going to get the help I needed,” she said.

After the procedure to implant the device, and follow up, Brancato is doing well.

“I have to give a shout-out to everyone I met during this process, from the door greeter at Good Samaritan to the nurses and doctors. I have such gratitude for my nurse coordinator, Suzanne Bartman, for checking in with me and visiting me and guiding me through the process,” she said. “They were all incredible.”

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