In celebration of Father’s Day, we’d like to take a few minutes to honor the fathers of our patients.
I had the pleasure of meeting one particular dad this week, many people told me he’s a “Super Dad” – and I’m inclined to agree with them.
Josh Quinn is Brodie, Jenna and Caleb’s dad, and by all accounts, he likes to have fun as much, if not more than, his kids do. He’s quite good at video games, he and Brodie love to hunt (there’s a story about a buck and a muzzle loader – Brodie loves to tell it!) and I think he’d be happy if the only thing he ever ate was watermelon.
Josh is the director of maintenance and housekeeping at The Christ Hospital and was recently honored as a finalist for the state Healthcare Worker of the Year Award, which is presented by the Ohio Hospital Association. He’s a bit of a hospital aficionado, but he has seen a different side of a hospital over the last two years as Brodie has been fighting Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
When Brodie was first diagnosed and undergoing treatment, Josh says he managed his stress poorly. He ate late at night and didn’t have a healthy outlet for the stress and worry that are part of helping your child fight a health battle.
After Brodie’s leukemia relapsed last year, the family started looking into cancer-fighting diets and lifestyle changes that could help Brodie be as strong and as healthy as possible during his treatments. In the process, Josh and his wife Sarah decided that some lifestyle changes would be beneficial to their whole family. Fourteen months later, Josh, eating a vegan diet and exercising regularly, has lost 106 lbs.
Because he has extra energy thanks to the weight loss and good nutrition, Josh is able to work hard and be an exceptionally involved father and husband for his family. The family’s resolve to take things one day at a time and their recognition that every day with Brodie is literally a gift is serving them well. They have fun in that hospital room and more fun when all five of the Quinns are at home together.
I met the Brodie, Josh and Sarah Quinn when they were here for a 5-day round of chemo. The food that Josh and Sarah make at home and bring in for Brodie’s feeds is doing the trick, Brodie is energetic, full of stories and all smiles.
Sarah says she has seen her husband mature and focus on what’s most important in their lives during the last couple of years. She’s proud of him and all that he has accomplished in his career, but she’s most proud of the father that he is to their kids. She says he’s always been a fantastic dad and this experience with Brodie has only made that more obvious.
Brodie says the thing that makes his dad the coolest is that he’s so much fun – “he takes me hunting!”
There are dads like Josh all over this hospital every day and at home keeping their families going and making kids smile. We wish each and every one of the fathers of our patients a very happy Father’s Day and hope that they have an opportunity to spend some quality time with their kids to celebrate!
