Melissa Hughes
"I'm truly honored to be a part of the Family Advisory Council. The members are all very passionate about making a difference." -- Melissa Hughes
Melissa Hughes
Family Advisory Council member Melissa Hughes.
Children of Family Advisory Council member Melissa Hughes.
Morgan and Riley, daughters of Family Advisory Council member Melissa Hughes.
Melissa Hughes became a member of the Family Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center during April 2006. "I joined the Family Advisory Council because of my two girls," Melissa said.
"I'm truly honored to be a part of the Family Advisory Council. The members are all very passionate about making a difference. I hope to give back to the hospital that has given our family so much medical care and emotional support," Melissa said.
"I think I will be able to make a difference on the council because I work with over 46 different departments at Cincinnati Children's, due to my children's special needs." Through her experiences, Melissa said she sees what works well in some departments and what does not work well in others.
"Also, because I live the experience daily, I know how parents want their children to be treated and how they, as parents, want to be treated," Melissa said.
"My four-year-old was born with CHEDS (a very rare eye condition) and could not see. She had her first surgery at three months; she had her first cornea transplant at 11 months and her second at 13 months," Melissa said.
"She has experienced general anesthesia 19 times, and now she has some vision," Melissa explained. "After not seeing us during her first year, we will never forget the first time our daughter saw us for the first time.
"I was devastated after finding out my first daughter couldn't see. But after the shock wore off I realized she was a fighter and a strong baby," Melissa said. "At that point I needed to stop feeling sorry for her and figure out how to help her fight for vision … so I did, and it paid off," she said.
"It is an awesome feeling to see my daughter look at a picture of Dr. Adam Kaufman and she says 'he fixed my eyes'," Melissa said.
Melissa's second daughter was also born with a life-threatening heart condition. According to Melissa, although her daughter was just a few hours old, she proved to be following in her older sister's footsteps of being strong-willed and a "fighter".
"My one-year-old, who was transported at birth to Cincinnati Children's with Tetralogy of Fallot and Di George Syndrome, stayed for two months in the Cardiac ICU," Melissa said.
"She had her first temporary fix to her heart at one month and bypass surgery at nine months." Melissa recalled bringing her two-month-old baby home from the hospital for the first time.
"I did the same for my second daughter as with the first. I had to figure out how to get her the best care. Now she is home trying to catch up to her big sister," Melissa said.
Dr. Jeff Pearl and Dr. Robert Beekman, along with many others, have provided exceptional care for our youngest daughter, but they have been great to our family!" Melissa exclaimed. "They really try to make sure we understand what is going on with our child and answer all of our questions."
"I have experienced a lot of different situations with my children. Some have allowed me to use the facilities / programs that have been offered at Cincinnati Children's, Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Hamilton County Help Me Grow and our local school district," Melissa said.
"After networking with all of these different environments and families, I get a lot of different perspectives on how families and organizations use Cincinnati Children's," Melissa said.
"I am hoping to make all of these different synergies flow together better so parents don't feel overwhelmed and alone," Melissa said. "I want parents to know there are great support groups and programs out there locally and nationally, and they are not all based on income."
Melissa has been an active member of the Family Advisory Council and has assisted the Marketing and Communications Department by providing a parent's perspective on the revision of the in-room binder provided in patient rooms.
