While she was nine weeks pregnant with her youngest daughter, Susie, a team member at Southern Ocean Medical Center, developed a worrying symptom. When she noticed rectal bleeding, she considered her father's rectal cancer diagnosis and her pregnancy, and knew she needed help. After a trip to the emergency department, her gastroenterologist recommended testing that changed everything. Susie was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. With two small children and another on the way, she was petrified. Her physician referred her to Dr. Michael Del Rosario, a familiar face to Susie. As a colon and rectal surgeon, he had operated on both her father and sister. Susie had to wait until her second trimester for surgery. Dr. Del Rosario successfully completed a laparoscopic resection to remove part of her colon, but the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. She was at stage 3C, and would need chemotherapy. Worried about the safety of her baby, Susie consulted with a specialist in cancer and pregnancy. She was assured she could safely proceed. Four months in, she paused to deliver a healthy baby girl. Autumn Hope was born on October 1, 2015. “It was such a scary time,” Susie says. “But Autumn was an absolute miracle.” The treatment worked. The next year, she took a role as practice manager of colon and rectal surgery at Southern Ocean, working in the same office as the surgeon who helped to save her life. Now, having celebrated her 10-year cancer-free milestone, Susie cherishes life with her husband and their three daughters. “Even the smallest moments are what mean the most to me,” says Susie. Although cancer is behind her, she remains diligent with her own health and her family's—even more so when her mother was diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer, and when her aunt passed away from her own battle. It has also given her deep empathy for her patients. “I help them navigate their diagnosis and first steps,” she says. “I’ve been on both sides—the health care side and the patient side—so I understand, and reassure my patients they’re in good hands. I’ve tried to take something negative and turn it into something positive to help others.” #PeopleofHMH (fb)

If you ask Evelyn, she received the best Mother's Day gift of all this year. Evelyn and her family have faced immense hardship. Two of her sons, Emmanuel and Gerald, were born with sickle cell. While they were still very young, their parents moved them to Ghana, the family’s ancestral home, in hopes the climate would ease the suffering that comes with living with the disease. Those living with sickle cell often face vaso-occlusive crises, a common symptom in which blocked blood flow in the body can cause intense pain. One day, “Emmanuel came home from school with severe pain in his chest and back, and he died on the way to the hospital,” Evelyn says. He was 7 years old. By the next year, when Gerald was 3, the family decided to move him back to the United States. Gerald spent his childhood in Maryland under regular medical care. Then tragedy struck again when Gerald's father passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic. But hope was around the corner. Gerald's team recommended the family seek out specialists at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital, where clinicians and researchers have been at the forefront of curative sickle cell treatment for more than 2 decades. Gerald would become the very first patient in New Jersey treated using newly approved gene therapy technology. In this treatment, a patient's own blood stem cells are retrieved, modified and given back to the patient as an infusion, while chemotherapy removes cells from the bone marrow that can be replaced with the genetically modified ones. “All I have ever wanted is for my son to live and to be normal like other children, to not live such a hard life, not have so much pain,” says Evelyn. This year, it seems she may get her wish. Gerald rang the bell surrounded by his mom and brothers, celebrating the end of this phase of his treatment. Now, he's home recovering, awaiting the potential for a cure. “I am really happy to be home, and I want to let the care team know that I am so grateful for them and everything that they have done to help me through this process. I will miss them and cherish them forever. They will be in my heart forever,” he says. Gerald carries their inspiration with him. Like his mother, who became a home health aide after being moved by her son's need for care, he aims to care for others someday. “I have always wanted to be in health care, and I definitely want to help people, too,” he says. (fb)