The Miracle of Living with Palliative Care from Birth
Ricardo Dossantos has never known a life without hospitals, surgeries, tests, and medical equipment. This engaging nine-year-old boy with a winning smile and fighting spirit first came to Regional Hospice as a patient when he was eight months old. Born with the congenital digestive disorder Hirschsprung’s disease, Ricardo endured numerous surgeries to keep him alive. “The doctors said he would not live because he had undergone so many surgeries,” explains his mother Eudiscelia. Regional Hospice nurses and social workers quickly got to know Ricardo, his mother and his grandmother as he waited for a transplant to save his life. The … * read more