Margaret Gatti-Mays, Deputy Director of Division of Medical Oncology Section Chief, Breast Medical Oncology Associate Professor at The Ohio State University, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“2025 was a challenging year from a personal perspective. Throughout the year, there were several challenges but all paled in comparison to my twin 7 year old sons being in the ICU this past month for flu A pneumonia (both otherwise healthy and vaccinated).
As my one son was on bipap and the other son intubated and on ECMO at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the village of physicians, nurses, ECMO specialists, pulmonary PTs, social workers, and hospital staff that rallied around them to get them better was simply amazing and left my husband and I with hope that they would get better (because as a parent – they HAD to get better. There was no other option in our minds). The sheer number of healthcare workers thinking about my sons and their illnesses was moving. They never gave up. Being on the patient side, I have a much better understanding of the power of teamwork and communication in maintaining hope. Their hard work translated to my sons being home for Christmas and a full recovery from very serious illnesses. My boys are back to their antics and teasing their older brother.
During this time we also found ourselves supported by our work village at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. The volume of support we received through cards, emails, texts, calls, etc was incredible. The tears and hugs I received when I returned to work was unbelievably touching – they all felt our pain and were genuinely concerned about our family. We are blessed to have found such a wonderful community and supportive colleagues.
‘No man who has friends is a failure’ – It’s a Wonderful Life
And while I never want to relive these past 4 weeks, the experience has left me filled with hope about the innate goodness of others and a greater appreciation of the true passion of healthcare workers.
Happy 2026 to all and Salude Chindon.”
More posts featuring Margaret Gatti-Mays.