Motivated by their family’s experience at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the Pollon family recently committed a generous planned gift to the hospital as part of UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Legacy Challenge.
Benjamin’s Fight for Life
The Pollon family’s journey with UPMC Children’s began in 1993 when their youngest child, Benjamin, was born with a life-threatening congenital disorder. Weighing 11 pounds, 8 ounces at birth, Benjamin arrived after a difficult delivery that caused a right arm Erb’s palsy and a brain hemorrhage. He was diagnosed with congenital nevi syndrome, congenital melanoma, with neurocutaneous melanosis that left more than half of his body covered in dark pigmentation, requiring significant surgical intervention.
At 3 months old, surgeons at UPMC Children’s removed nearly 80% of the skin on Benjamin’s back and replaced it with lab‑grown, tissue‑engineered skin, the first procedure of its kind performed at the hospital. Benjamin spent two months in a medically induced coma and slowly recovered in the weeks and months to come.
Collaborative Critical Care
In the years that followed, Benjamin experienced more than 30 surgeries, 350 procedures, extensive therapies for autism and developmental needs, and long hospital stays that sometimes stretched into months.
The complexity of his condition required collaboration among countless providers, including neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, orthopedic specialists, pulmonologists, gastroenterologists, and developmental experts.
Despite numerous close calls and many sleepless nights for his parents, Benjamin received the subspecialty care he needed, and today, he is a happy, healthy adult.
Part of the Team
Benjamin’s mother, Dorothy, explains that their family’s experience with UPMC Children’s was transformative for both Benjamin and their entire family.
Now a UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation Trustee, UPMC Children’s Hospital Trustee, passionate Children’s advocate, and long-time donor, Dorothy shares, “Handing over your baby to a hospital not knowing if he would survive is the most difficult thing a parent can experience.”
She continues, “The doctors, nurses, therapists, and staff at UPMC Children’s cared for my child like he was their own. That was reassuring and truly lifesaving for Ben and for me.”
The Pollon family found patient, kind experts at the hospital who created a fully individualized medical journey that offered Benjamin the best possible outcomes. “The medical staff approached me with respect and dignity and always made sure that I had what I needed to take care of Benjamin,” Dorothy says. “I was treated as part of the medical team.”
Investing in Compassionate Care
To honor the exceptional treatment Benjamin received at UPMC Children’s, the Pollon family recently documented a generous planned gift to the hospital through the Legacy Challenge. The Legacy Challenge offers an immediate 10% cash match, up to $100,000, for new or increased planned gifts, allowing donors to amplify their impact today while investing in tomorrow’s treatments and cures.
“It is our honor to provide this legacy gift,” Dorothy states. “UPMC Children’s is driven by a mission to heal patients with compassion, excellence, and unwavering dedication. Every child deserves the chance to grow into a successful, healthy adult as Ben has, and this gift brings us another step closer to that vision.”
A Lasting Legacy
With this planned gift, the Pollon family’s legacy will forever be intertwined with that of UPMC Children’s.
Which is exactly how Dorothy would want it to be for Benjamin and the outstanding hospital that saved his life. “Throughout our years spent at UPMC Children’s, it became our home away from home.”
She concludes, “They are my family, and I would do anything for my hospital family and the many children we serve.”
Inspired by the Pollon family’s story? You can create a legacy that lasts for generations. Through the Legacy Challenge, you can direct matching funds (equal to 10% of the value of your planned gift, up to $100,000 match) to support clinical care, research, patient experience, or community health. Join families like the Pollons and make your compassion part of UPMC Children’s future.