Life changes quickly – August 19, 2021, started off like a typical Thursday on Nantucket, up early with our kids heading off to camp to soak in their last few days of summer. Except that morning, our 9-year-old son, Jack, began to complain about a pain on the left side of his mouth – like a toothache. We checked in with a dentist about a tooth infection where they took a couple of X-rays and identified a larger problem, so they sent us to Nantucket Cottage Hospital (NCH).
Within 15 minutes, we were sitting in the emergency room at NCH, and Jack’s face started to swell even more. He said, “Mom, I feel like I am going to be sick,” started to sweat, and looked like he was having an allergic reaction. I had no idea what was going on but alerted the nurse, and we were quickly rushed behind the waiting room doors where we were immediately assessed by the wonderful ER team.
Jack started to cry as he spiked a fever and his face continued to balloon. My heart was racing as a mother to not have any idea what was happening to my child – only that everything was getting worse by the minute.
The medical team ran tests and called in Pediatric ENT Surgeon, Dr. Barbara Malone, who came right over to assess Jack. Dr. Malone was so knowledgeable and was able to diagnose Jack with a parotid gland bacterial infection and put together an aggressive treatment plan of intravenous antibiotics to fight the infection.
It takes 12-24 hours for antibiotics to start to work. Jack’s fever spiked to 106 over several hours, and I remember holding his hand thinking: “What if his fever doesn’t come down? What if he goes into shock? We are on this beautiful island, but if something takes a turn, what do we do?!” The nurses, physicians, and assistants on call were exceptional at attending to Jack, changing his cold washcloths, and keeping Scott and I calm by reassuring us that as soon as the Ibuprofen and antibiotics kicked in, he would be ok.
We ended up spending three days at NCH while the staff made sure Jack was receiving the best care possible.
There wasn’t a staff member who didn’t go above and beyond to make sure Jack was in the best hands. The professionalism and expertise led by Dr. Malone and her team was next level. Life can change so quickly. We have no idea how Jack got sick, nor what we would have done had he not been immediately treated by the team at NCH.
It is in these emergency situations you realize how lucky we are to have a world-class hospital available within minutes on-island. We love spending our summers on Nantucket and will be eternally grateful for the love that NCH gave us right back.
– Kim and Scott Goodwin and Family
Barbara Malone, MD
Dr. Barbara Malone is a Pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician. She joined NCH in 2020 and currently serves as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Malone provides enhanced services to island children, including treatment of ear infections and hearing problems, nose and throat infections, nosebleeds and nasal injuries, difficulty breathing and snoring, and other problems of the head and neck in children. Dr. Malone and her husband, Paul, live on-island year-round with their dog, Ned.
