The Pediatric Patient and Family Advisory Council
Meet the Members
Michael Dodd
I'm a 44-year-old married father of two. My daughter, Isabelle, was 19 months old when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. My son was 6 years old. My wife and I were shocked by the news, and managed as best we could. We received expert and compassionate care at the Jimmy Fund Clinic and Children's Hospital Boston. We also met many wonderful families with whom we shared days and nights on 6 and 7 West at Children's Hospital, and who offered us their friendship and support. We are very fortunate. Today, Isabelle is in full remission four years after diagnosis. We also continue friendships with many childhood cancer families like our own. In an effort to find a "new normal" after cancer, and also to give back to the hospital, we decided early on that we wanted to volunteer one Sunday each month on 7 West. Our idea was to bring coffee, conversation, and sock puppets to the kids and families who are currently on treatment and, if possible, to give back the hope that was given to us by families who came before us. Our efforts to obtain formal permission to establish this meeting brought us in touch with the Center for Families at Children's Hospital and, ultimately, with the Pediatric Patient and Family Advisory Council (PPFAC), where our idea was understood and encouraged. This will be our third year hosting monthly meetings on 7 West, and we have dubbed ourselves "Hospital Campers." Over the years, many childhood cancer families have joined us in our monthly pilgrimage back to the unit for coffee and crafts.
Three years ago, my wife and I also joined the PPFAC, and today we enjoy the opportunity provided by them to better understand and advise the institution that helped us in our time of need. My interests in the PPFAC include aiding families during the transition off treatment, and recognizing the ways in which well siblings can help when their brother or sister gets cancer. I am a psychologist by trade working with survivors of war trauma. Since Isabelle's illness, I have authored and illustrated a children's picture book for siblings of kids with cancer. In the PPFAC, I am a childhood cancer parent just trying to make a difference for kids and families in treatment today. And the PPFAC helps.
