Meet Bo, who remained in high spirits during the toughest challenge of his life

When Bo caught a common cold early last year, his family could never have imagined that they would soon experience the impossible.

Although he didn’t think much of it at first, his parents became increasingly worried after noticing Bo struggled to keep any food down. They had already taken him to different hospitals and clinics, where physicians had seemingly failed to get to the root of the cause of his symptoms.

“I told him, ‘If you’re not able to keep these French fries down, we’re going to go to Children’s Health,’” his dad, Shannon, said. “Well, he was not able to.”

Upon their arrival at Children’s Health, his care team began running some tests. Bo was dehydrated, and they had discovered that his white blood count was elevated.

His physicians suspected he was dealing with an infection, so he stayed at the hospital overnight for more tests.

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Children’s Health was different to the other hospitals I went to because they actually looked at what was wrong.

— Bo, Children's Health patient

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The next day, Bo complained about his head hurting badly, so his physicians ordered a CT scan — which revealed that the infection was in his brain. After a thorough evaluation, they diagnosed him with meningitis, a viral or bacterial infection in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Then, physicians rushed Bo into his first emergency brain surgery.

‘Surrounded by a lot of help’

Over the next two months, physicians performed four successful brain surgeries on Bo.

“It was scary, but child life specialists helped calm me down by giving me squishy toys and explaining what was going to happen,” he said.

Minnie the Goldendoodle, one of the pet therapy dogs at Children’s Health, escorted Bo to one of his surgeries, distracting him and easing his nerves ahead of entering the operating room. Child Life and the Pet Therapy program are among the services available to families at Children’s Health that aim to ensure they have a positive experience while at the hospital. They come at no cost to patient families and instead rely on philanthropic support.

“When Minnie walked in the room, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my dream breed!’ She helped me calm down and was right there by my side during the hard times,” Bo said. “Then my dad told me after everything that I’ve been through, he’ll give me a dog.”

Shannon felt relieved about his decision to bring his son to a hospital that specializes in caring for children — a hospital where team members consider and listen to the kids when making decisions about their care.

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Had we arrived at Children’s Health minutes or a couple of hours later, things could have not turned out the way they did,” Shannon said. “It could have turned out worse.”

— Shannon, Bo's mother

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Bo and his family felt supported not only by their faith and family, but also by their care team, who were there for them every step of their journey at Children’s Health.

“We were never really alone,” his dad, Shannon, said. “We were surrounded by a lot of help. That really helped get us through.”

Aiming to provide the same kind of incredible care, attention and experience to more families across North Texas and beyond, Children’s Health is embarking on a transformative project — a new Dallas pediatric campus.

The new campus, a joint investment with UT Southwestern Medical Center, will ensure Children’s Health can grow along with its community and further its ability to pioneer innovative academic research and lifesaving technology and treatments with an exclusive focus on the unique needs of children like Bo.

Regaining his strength

After his surgeries, Bo had limited mobility on the left side of his body.

He remained at Children’s Health for rehabilitation, where physical therapists helped him relearn how to move his left arm, hand and foot again.

“They helped me gain my strength back,” he said.

The process went smoothly thanks to his care team, family’s support and resilience.

At 10 years old, Bo had faced the toughest challenges of his young life, but he never let that get his spirits down.

While hospitalized, he hosted a game of bingo and taught other patients how to make salsa at a cooking show broadcast from Seacrest Studios, the hospital's own interactive TV and radio production studio.

“It felt really good to be included in that,” Bo said.

Once he felt better, Bo, who at the time was also his school’s student council president, made time to hop onto a video call to check in with the student body who’d been wondering where he’d gone.

Bo’s homecoming

Bo was discharged from the hospital on the last day of school — and he couldn’t pass an opportunity to surprise his classmates.

So, before heading back home, he and his family stopped by his school. Upon his arrival, his teachers held an impromptu parade through the campus, where he got to celebrate his return with other students.

“It felt good to be missed,” he said. “A lot of people were missing me and were excited and happy to see me that day.”

Now 11 years old, Bo continues to be “the life of the party,” his dad said.

When he grows up, Bo dreams of becoming a lawyer to help other people and “solve cases that haven’t been solved,” he said.

“I’m good at arguing, defending and debating,” he added.

He also wants to sign up as a volunteer at Children’s Health once he’s old enough to give back to the place where he received care.

And his dad? He stayed true to his promise of getting Bo his own furry best friend — Milo, the Goldendoodle.

“I was pretty happy about that,” Bo said with a big smile.

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