Souleles family grateful for lifesaving care

Tom and Cia Souleles, with their children Georgia and Sam, credit Children’s Memorial with saving Georgia’s life.

“A great city like Chicago deserves a world-class children’s hospital,” says Cia Souleles. “It’s important to think about the health services a child you love may need in the future.”

Seven years ago, Cia and Tom Souleles’ daughter, Georgia, was born via emergency c-section at Prentice Women’s Hospital. She weighed two pounds, five ounces due to pre-eclampsia, a condition in pregnancy that causes high blood pressure and swelling. She was immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Memorial Hospital, where she spent the next three months battling for her life from complications such as necrotizing enterocolitis, a gastrointestinal disease that affects mostly premature infants.

A multidisciplinary team cared for Georgia, and the family attributes the dedication of caregivers including neonatologist James Collins, MD, and nurse Teon Smith, RN, with saving their daughter’s life. They have supported Dr. Collins’ research and helped purchase special beds for the NICU designed to accommodate future surgeries like Georgia’s. “We wanted to give back to an organization that helped us so profoundly. The hospital is a critical resource for our city. I’m thankful it’s here to provide that same level of care to other families,” says Tom.

Tom currently serves on the Children’s Memorial Medical Center Board and its investment committee. Cia joined the Founders’ Board in 2004. The Souleleses have taken their support a step farther with a significant gift to the Heroes for Life campaign to support the creation of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “I believe that investing in Lurie Children’s is the responsibility of my generation; this is our hospital,” Cia says. In recognition of this gift, a playroom in the NICU will be named in honor of Georgia and her brother, Sam.

A former social worker in child welfare, Cia recently completed training for the hospital’s ParentWISE^TM program. ParentWISE^TM, which stands for Parent Wisdom In Shared Experience, is a volunteer program that supports parents during their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Because of their personal experiences, volunteers are able to offer hope and practical support to families coping with medical or surgical challenges. “Once you have a child as sick as Georgia was, it changes you forever. We learned to focus on one or two causes and pour our hearts into them,” she says.

Today, Georgia is a precocious and energetic 7-yearold who enjoys tennis, soccer, American Girl dolls and playdates with friends from school. She still feels a strong connection with the hospital that cared for her. Every time she sees the hospital’s logo featuring the child’s hand, she feels a burst of ownership and exclaims, “That’s my hospital!”