Big Impact On A Tiny Life

PJ O’Connor has always been invested in the success of AHN. In fact, as Manager of Business Development at his father’s healthcare consulting firm, OC Reilly, PJ has established a wonderful local partnership with AHN and donates regularly on behalf of the firm. It wasn’t until PJ’s own child came into the world that he truly understood the life-changing power of those donations.

PJ’s wife, Emily, was also very familiar with AHN, as she has worked as a nurse in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at West Penn Hospital for over three years. The couple was expecting their first baby in September 2018, but the little bundle of joy had other plans in mind.

Over a month before her due date, Emily was rushed to West Penn Hospital with complications, where they scheduled an emergency C-section. That is where the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team stepped in. Dr. Giovanni Laneri, an AHN neonatal medicine specialist, called off the C-section and calmed the nerves of both soon-to-be parents. Emily was monitored until she later went into premature labor, delivering the baby naturally.

The care and passion of the AHN nursing staff was like nothing I’ve ever seen...”

“Honestly, everything was much calmer than we prepared for,” PJ said. “Dr. Alan Lantzy, the on call doctor, was sitting there, in the middle of the room, orchestrating the entire show. He was [Emily’s] guiding light through the entire experience.”

Oliver O’Connor made his early entrance into the world on July 10, 2018. Oliver arrived crying, showing signs of good health. But being that Oliver was born prematurely, the rollercoaster ride wasn’t quite over. Oliver was placed in an incubator to regulate his body temperature and monitored 24 hours a day by the NICU staff.

PJ and Emily visited the hospital every single day, cherishing every moment they were able to spend with their new baby. PJ said it was very important for them to trust the medical experts and to step away for a break from time to time. PJ and Emily would leave the hospital in the evening to have dinner together, giving them a chance to process each day.

After 28 long days in the NICU, PJ and Emily were finally able to bring Oliver home with them.

“The care and passion of the AHN nursing staff was like nothing I’ve ever seen,” PJ said. “They were all so kind to us. I would never want to go through it again, but they made it almost enjoyable to be there every day.”

Until it happened to us, I didn’t realize how many people do go through this,” PJ said. “We are beyond grateful for the attention and care our son Oliver received and AHN is definitely a large part of why he is so healthy and doing so well.”

For the O’Connor’s, Oliver is truly #LivingProof of your gifts at work, making it possible for each patient to receive the compassionate and comprehensive care he or she deserves.

Making a donation to AHN has always been important to PJ and his firm, but after their experience in the NICU, specifying where their donation goes hits a bit closer to home. That’s why, moving forward, they decided they wanted their donations to go directly to the NICU – helping to provide the most advanced expert care to our region’s tiniest, most fragile patients.