Kids & Family

Good News: Nurses Rally for Sick Boy; Districts Honored

Some stories put a smile on your face. Here's our wrap-up from around Suffolk County.

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to nitty-gritty breakdowns of government and school district issues. But some stories are simply inspiring, often showing that at the heart of our communities is a desire to do good. Here are some of the touching headlines from the past seven days.

Nurses Crowdfund for Patchogue Boy

Helping Brian Ilg, an 8-year-old Patchogue boy born with a debilitating skin disorder, is the focus of a fundraising campaign organized by three Stony Brook University Hospital nurses.

The nurses are trying to raise $45,000 in order to build a portable medical treatment unit for Ilg via the gofundme crowdfunding platform, who has Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. According to the campaign’s description written by Mary Emerson, continuous blistering caused by the condition is disfiguring and painful. The blistering can be caused by any kind of friction, which causes wounds to develop.

“Brian's care entails a daily, three hour-long dressing change of the bandages that protect his skin from injury and treat the wounds that affect 60 percent of his body,” Emerson writes.

The treatment unit is described as a little house on wheels, with dedicated space for Ilg’s medical care separate from his family’s living area. The separation will reduce the spread of infection. The description says the house will have a walk-in whirlpool bathtub for Ilg to submerge himself clean and gently debride his wounds, which is said to reduce his bath-time pain by 50 percent.

According to the fundraising page, the “Honey House” as it’s being called costs $4,000 for the trailer, $3,600 for the windows and doors and almost $6,000 for the walk-in bathtub. Also on the list is to provide the structure a heating and cooling system, a power generator so the facility can work off-grid and during power outages, internet access and an entertainment console.

Lost Dog Finds Home

Caring West Islip residents play big role in reuniting dog and owner.

Thanks to caring West Islip residents and some media publicity, Harry, a dog found wandering in West Islip Tuesday, will be reunited with his owner, Dave, this morning at the Islip Town Animal Shelter.

According to Dave, Harry somehow got out and ran off Tuesday and Dave spent hours looking for him. Then a neighbor of Dave's, Brian, spotted Harry's picture on the West Islip Patch and reached out to Dave to let him know about the lost dog story.

District Sets AP Scholar Record

Aneri Kinariwalla is the Sayville School District's National AP Scholar.

Over the past five years, Sayville High School students have been achieving AP designations in ever-increasing numbers.

Such increases are even more significant when considering that the class-enrollment population is on the decline.

This year, Sayville had the highest number ever of Advanced Placement Scholars: 112.

Speaking Up for Autism

Members of the Port Jefferson School District represented their students at the Long Island Walk Now for Autism Speaks event, held recently at Jones Beach. The annual walk helps generate funds and awareness about the increasing prevalence of autism.

The two Port Jefferson teams, one for the elementary school and one for the middle/high school, raised more than $600 combined for the cause.

School Year Volunteers Honored

Sachem's Extended School Year Program volunteers were honored at the Oct. 9 Sachem Central School District Board of Education work session.

The large group were called up to the front of the room at Samoset Middle School in Holbrook.

There's a New Chaplain

A West Babylon resident has been officially named a chaplain after completing over a thousand hours of clinical pastoral education.

Cathy Blackman, a West Babylon citizen, completed 1,600 hours of clinical pastoral education at Our Lady of Consolation Nursing Center in West Islip, which allowed her to become a board certified chaplain.

Boy Scouts to Help Those with Life-Threatening Allergies

Boy Scouts from Commack's Troop 125 volunteered over the weekend to support those with food allergies, including those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis.

More than 1, 500 people participated in the Food Allergy Research and Education Walk Oct. 13 at Eisenhower Park. The local scouts lent as hand as they passed out water to all the participants at two locations along the route while offering them encouragement to keep on walking.


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