News

Cleaning up the pediatric intensive care waiting room in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh one Christmas Eve, Leslie Braksick stumbled upon an anonymous letter about her family's tradition.

Her daughter, Sydney Leigh, was born Dec. 24, 1996, and spent all 32 days of her life in the PICU.

Every Christmas Eve since, Sydney's family makes and serves lasagna dinners for the families of PICU patients "in memory and celebration of her life and what we observed while we were there," said Braksick, 41, of Sewickley Heights, founder and chairman of Continuous Learning Group Inc. in Moon. "When you have a child in the ICU, going to the cafeteria is too far ... so you eat out of vending machines or you don't eat."

Braksick found the letter on the family's second annual visit.

"I think that is what touched us the most -- that they would care enough about all of us, even after their daughter died, to reach out and support us," the anonymous letter writer said. "Some thought that they did it because Christmas Eve was their child's birthday, which just goes to show that their child is with God now and they are using her power to help others.

"Their visit felt like we had been touched by angels. It showed us that we were not alone, and that we can get through this thing."

The author described her son's ordeal with spina bifida, and how the Braksicks helped lift the spirits of patients in the PICU the previous year.

"It was like it was meant for us, but the likelihood that we would ever see it was small," said Sydney's father, Matt Braksick, 41, a stay-at-home father to Austin, 12, and Maddie, 8.

"To have the spirit of the holidays is great. It's kind of depressing because it's the holidays and you have to be there," said Kathy O'Connor, whose daughter, Kaitlyn Schmidt, 13, has been in the PICU since Sept. 26, when she underwent a multi-organ transplant, receiving a liver, intestines, pancreas, stomach and kidneys. She had two liver transplants at age 1.

O'Connor lost her job in Philadelphia and is living in the Ronald McDonald House in Oakland. Her daughters, ages 9 and 12, remain at home in Washington Township, N.J., with a family friend, but will join her at Children's for the holidays. O'Connor said she does not like to be away from Kaitlyn, who is on a ventilator, and is grateful her family and those of other patients will have a hot dinner on Christmas Eve.

The PICU is like "an underworld" full of pain and tragedy, Leslie Braksick said. While their daughter was there, the Braksicks said they often wondered how they would be able to talk again with friends and family, who, fortunately, were unfamiliar with the depth of their suffering and, in the midst of the holiday season, were enjoying cocktail parties, family celebrations and everyday routines.

At the same time, they said the hospital staff repeatedly performed acts of love and miracles that lifted their spirits.

Sydney Leigh was not breathing when she was born at Sewickley Valley Hospital, weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces. She was put on a ventilator and taken to Children's PICU.

"She was beautiful, perfect in every other way," her mother said.

Doctors discovered the great vessels of her heart were transposed. She underwent successful open heart surgeries at 5 and 9 days old.

"She had actually gotten better, and we thought we were going to be taking her home," Leslie Braksick said. But doctors were unable to wean her from the ventilator.

That's when doctors discovered she had a rare and irreparable brain malformation. Although the cortex was normal, making her behave and respond like a normal infant, the cerebellum was not. She would never be able to breathe on her own or have some of the other automatic functions necessary for life, such as digestion and blood pressure control.

Three days later, her life support was removed and she died in her mother's arms.

The Braksicks do not share Sydney's story with current PICU families unless they are asked.

"It's a little hard to tell people that our daughter died," Matt Braksick said.

"They really want to have hope, and we don't want to imply that they shouldn't," said Leslie Braksick, who now serves on the board of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.

"It's unfortunate what brought them into the Children's fold, but we're lucky to have them," said Dr. Fred Sherman, a pediatric cardiologist. He and his wife, Katy, and sometimes his stepdaughter, Madeline Whitehill, have helped serve dinner each year since Sydney's cardiologist retired six years ago.

"It's a wonderful thing to watch. The patients' families really appreciate it."

"Sometimes they just want to tell their story, or get a hug. They know we know what they're going through," Leslie Braksick said.

Last week, the Braksicks began preparing this year's feast for 100 people, although they never know exactly how many people will be there.

"It's good when we see less parents, because it means more children are healthy than sick," Maddie said.

It's part of her favorite family tradition that begins each Christmas Eve decorating a pine tree next to Sydney's gravestone, where the family prays and releases balloons with messages to her. After church, they pick up the lasagna baking at home and head to Children's to serve dinner. They also leave treats in the waiting rooms and lots of change for the vending machines.

"It's a lot of fun. It's good, because you go in there and people are sad," Austin said. "When you start serving food, it's almost like a time of hope for them. There's just something about it."

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News