18 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 14, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Born at Elmhurst
BY QNS SPECIAL
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
The Circle of Life
Stephanie Collado was born at Elmhurst
and has lived her entire life in Queens.
Her husband, Gary Singh, was also born
at the hospital. And on May 4, 2020, near
the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Stephanie gave birth prematurely to twin
girls, Aaliyah and Gia, at Elmhurst.
Stephanie wasn’t just born at Elmhurst;
she’s been cared for in the hospital in
some important ways. As an infant her
mother brought her to Elmhurst for treatment
for a hip problem; her legs weren’t
growing evenly. Years of on-and-off physical
therapy and special shoes helped her
legs grow straight and even. By the time
she was 10, Stephanie was back in normal
footwear. She hasn’t had a problem since.
Stephanie and Gary, who still live in
Queens, originally planned to have their
babies a little closer to their immediate
neighborhood. But during Stephanie’s
pregnancy strange symptoms emerged: A
rash appeared on her face, and her joints
and hands swelled up. Her doctor admitted
her to the local hospital, where they
spent four days trying to fi gure out what
was wrong. But doctors there weren’t able
to diagnose her.
“It was debilitating and I was desperate,
so I decided to go to the dermatology
department at Elmhurst,” she said.
“Th ey did biopsies and kept digging until
they fi gured it out.” Finally, Stephanie got
a diagnosis she never expected: lupus, an
autoimmune condition she may have had
for years without knowing it. Pregnancy
can trigger a fl are-up. She began seeing
a rheumatologist at Elmhurst, who prescribed
medications to keep her symptoms
in check. And that excellent care
prompted Stephanie to move her prenatal
care to the hospital, too.
“Th e hospital’s been in my life since I
was born, through my childhood. Th en
they helped me fi nd a cure for my ailment
and give birth to my two daughters,” she
said. “I feel very connected to my community
because of this hospital.”
Th at level of comfort helped Stephanie
when her babies came early, just 31 weeks
into her pregnancy. At the time, the coronavirus
was spreading through the area
so quickly, Elmhurst Hospital established
quarantine protocols to protect patients
and workers. Th at meant Gary wasn’t
allowed inside with her. “Giving birth
during the pandemic was so diffi cult.
I couldn’t have anyone there—not my
husband, and no midwife or doula,”
she said. “But it felt safe the whole
time. Giving birth is a traumatic experience.
You don’t know what’s coming
at you, you don’t know what to
expect. But I met the kindest, most
wonderful people there. From the
moment I gave birth, the
nurse helping me the
fi rst three nights was
amazing. Everyone
I encountered was
so kind. You can’t
fi nd that everywhere.”
Because her
d au g ht e r s
were premature,
they
s t a y e d
in the
NICU for a full month, until each of them
weighed fi ve pounds. A few days aft er giving
birth Stephanie was discharged home.
Th e pandemic meant she and her husband
couldn’t touch or even visit their newborns
as they grew. But the staff at Elmhurst
found ways to keep the family connected.
Th e social worker on their case sent photos
and notifi ed her when the babies hit milestones,
and they had regular video chats so
Stephanie and Gary could see their daughters’
progress for themselves.
“Everything happens for a reason, I
believe,” she said. “Th is must be a metaphor
for something—life is full circle. You
go back where you came from. It’s a silver
lining.”
All in the Elmhurst family
Navdeep Kaur and her brother, Jagmeet
Singh, are both nurses
at Elmhurst.
And both were
born there,
eight years
apart. In
their family,
they are
fi rst-generation Americans.
“My siblings were born there, my cousins
were born there, we’re all connected,”
said Jagmeet, who goes by Jimmy. “Even
when I’m not at work we’re still connected,
because that’s where we were born. I
grew up with at least eight cousins on the
same block, all of us born in the hospital.”
Navdeep has similar memories. “We’re
like an Elmhurst family,” she said. Th e kids
in their generation played together and
knew everybody else on their block. “Any
time any of us got sick or needed an ER,
we’d go there. Kids are kids, so growing up
we went to the ER for a lot of things.”
When she graduated from nursing
school, Navdeep had only one place in
mind she wanted to work: Elmhurst.
With an aunt, Parminder, already working
there, the decision was simple.
“When I started at Elmhurst, I felt at
home right away,” she said. “I knew the area,
knew everything around here, even though
I’d been away for a while.” In her eight years
at the hospital, Navdeep has worked in
rehabilitation, neurosurgery, and progressive
care, and is now a nurse in the intensive
care unit. “It’s the only hospital I’ve ever
worked at, and I never want to leave.”
Jimmy, younger by eight years, followed
in her footsteps. He’s now in the geriatric
unit. “It feels good to work in my
neighborhood hospital,” he said. Th ough
the area has changed plenty since Jimmy
and his siblings and cousins were kids,
and even though he himself now lives in
New Jersey, the area is still deeply familiar
to him. “My grandfather still lives in
the house where I grew up, and I group
my workdays together and stay with him,”
said Jimmy. “Some days I’ll be leaving
work and I’ll see him outside, and it’s a
20-minute walk from home, but he’s really
active. His primary caregiver is in the hospital,
too—he likes going there.”
‘Elmhurst strong’
Navdeep was among the fi rst Elmhurst
workers to get sick with COVID-19, while
she was working in the ICU in March. Her
husband, who doesn’t work at the hospital,
also fell ill with the virus. Fortunately,
their symptoms weren’t severe, so they
recuperated at their home. “My coworkers
were an additional support system,
another family,” she said. “We talked to
each other on the phone, and they texted
to check in on me, asking how I was
doing each day.” Two weeks later, she was
back at work.
While the hospital rushed to learn all
that they could about the virus and how
best to care for patients, Jimmy worried
about his sister even as he was transferred
to the ICU stepdown unit. “It was
traumatizing at fi rst, but we just had
to get through it,” he said. “We pulled
through, Elmhurst strong. Th e saying is
very true. It’s a community-centered hospital,
and what we’ve been through shows
how strong we are.”
Both siblings see their work at the hospital
as a way to stay connected to their
roots. “To me, it’s kind of like, OK, you
brought me into this world, so I’ll
give back,” said Navdeep. “It means
more because I’ve known that area
for so long.” And for Jimmy, the feeling
runs deep. “Working here gives
me a sense of purpose, not just
for myself but for helping others,”
he said.
The Kaur-Collado Family
Photo courtesy
of NYC
Health
Hospitals/
Elmhurst
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