I would like to thank and honor Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Dr. Mark Mittler of Cohen's Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, NY. Dr. Mittler had operated on my son Teddy 21 times in a 24 month time period. When you spend almost every month in the hospital with your child the first 2 years of his life, sometimes back to back weeks, it is the most stressful, scary, over the top range of emotions a parent can possibly feel.

You must be comfortable and trusting of your child's surgeon. Those who don't understand Hydrocephalus and the frequency and risk of malfunction were begging me to get second opinions. There was never a doubt in my mind that Dr. Mittler was going to ultimately figure out what would work for my son. He has a complex shunt system with catheters in both ventricles along with a stent in his third ventricle. The scar tissue is so severe that there were some instances of 7 hour surgeries with nothing accomplished because of the risk of navigating around my son's brain.

Aside from being a brilliant surgeon with an amazing bedside manner, Dr. Mittler NEVER EVER questioned my instincts as a mother. This alone meant more to me than words can express. Because of my instincts and Dr. Mittler always acting immediately on those instincts, we often caught malfunctions before they caused any brain damage.

There was one particular night where Teddy's Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy failed and for the first time I saw worry in Dr. Mittler's eyes given Teddy's condition. He literally carried my son from the ER to the catscan room to ensure he had a catscan immediately so he could then get him to the Operating Room as soon as possible.

Dr. Mittler never rushed me out of the Operating Room while they administered anesthesia. He always explained things in depth to me in a way a non medical person could understand, he never appeared to tire of my questions, concerns, fears, anxiety and sometimes hysteria.

I'll never forget seeing that Dr. Mittler was employee of the month at the hospital. This is not often an honor given to a surgeon, but it is just another indication of the kind of person he is. The hospital staff, all levels nominated him.

We just hit our one year milestone of no surgery and had our visit with Dr. Mittler. He was so happy about how well Teddy is doing and the fact that he is a thriving, outgoing terrific little boy, you couldn't help but see that this was in fact a personal triumph for Dr. Mittler, not so much from a medical perspective but because he truly cares about my son and us as a family.

I'll never forget Teddy taking Dr. Mittler's hand and walking down the hall behind them watching as if they knew each other forever. They say kids are often a great judge of character and when Teddy woke up the next day and said "mommy, when I grow up, I want to be Dr. Mittler," my heart melted and I knew that all that I've known about Dr. Mittler was just confirmed by my 3 year old son. One hero can certainly recognize another hero.