42 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • APRIL 2021
JOHN’S CRAZY SOCKS
SOCKS FOR HEALTHCARE HEROES
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
When Huntington resident John Cronin
was admitted to the hospital with
Covid-19 on Christmas Day last year, his
prognosis was uncertain.
John, 25, has Down syndrome, and
people with the genetic disorder are at
a higher risk for complications when
contracting the virus, doctors say.
“It is important to recognize the much
greater risk that adults with Down syndrome
face with the Covid-19 virus,”
says Dr. Jim Hendrix, chief scientific
officer at the LuMind IDSC Foundation,
a Down syndrome research and
treatment foundation. “A 40-year-old
person with Down syndrome presents
much more like an 80-year-old person
in the general population.”
That’s why Huntington Hospital staff,
especially Dr. John Anderson and
Registered Nurse Patricia Coffey, took
special care to consider John’s Down
syndrome when treating him. This
included allowing his father, Mark
Cronin, to stay in the hospital room
with John.
“This decision provided John with important
support and aided the medical
staff in their treatment,” Mark says.
After about one week of intensive
treatment, including a regimen of
high-flow oxygen, steroids, remdisivir,
antibiotics, and a blood thinner,
John recovered and left the hospital
on New Year’s Day.
To repay the medical professionals who
helped nurse him back to health, John
donated more than 100 pairs of funky
socks and packages of Skittles to the
hospital staff.
“I am so thankful for the care I got at
Huntington Hospital,” John says. “I was
very sick, and they took care of me until
I got better. Everyone was so nice to me.”
John’s donation was just one way in
which he and his father continue to
give back through their business, John’s
Crazy Socks. The online store, johnscrazysocks.
com, sells more than 2,000
types of socks with funky patterns.
John and Mark donate 5 percent of their
profit to the Special Olympics. They also
donate some proceeds to their charity
partners, including Autism Speaks,
the Autism Society of America Nassau/
Suffolk Chapter, the National Down
Syndrome Society, and United Cerebral
Palsy. To date, they’ve donated more
than $400,000 to these organizations,
according to the website.
John›s Crazy Socks› donation to Huntington
Hospital included its healthcare
superhero, firefighter tribute, and EMT
tribute socks, which all raise money
for Covid-19 relief and the Huntington
Community First Aid Squad.
“We are grateful to John and Mark for
recognizing us with this generous donation,”
says Dr. Nick Fitterman, executive
director of Huntington Hospital, “and
we look forward to sporting our socks
throughout the hospital.”
John Cronin and his father, Mark Cronin, donated gift bags of socks and candy
to healthcare workers. (Courtesy Huntington Hospital)
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