Shay started as a nurse in our outpatient clinics in Otolaryngology in 2018. She grew to love the specialty of Otology and became an essential member of the team. In 2023 she was promoted to Clinical Manager of Otolaryngology Outpatient Clinics. While being at MEE, she has grown strong relationships with her peers, including the providers, nurses, medical assistants, and administrative assistants. Shay is a strong, caring, empathetic, knowledgeable nurse and mother. Shay and Matt met through close friends and have enjoyed all of their time together exploring New England from Vermont to the Cape. They both love to enjoy Boston sports, especially the Patriots and the Celtics. Russell Matthew Comeau was born December 2, 2023. Russell is always smiling, loves to watch the news and Bluey, but most importantly loves being with his devoted parents. Recently, Russell has needed special care from providers at MGH and MEE. Shay, Matt, and Russell are currently inpatient and will most likely be in the hospital setting for an extended time. Shay and Matt are currently at Russell's side being his biggest advocate and giving all the cuddles every step of the way. Please support Shay, Matt, and Russell with gift cards, notes, donations, and any comfort or encouragement while they are going through a difficult time. Russell was unexpectedly born with a cleft palate. Although small, this cleft posed many challenges for feeding. He has always used a specialty bottle that allowed him to feed. However, even with a specialty bottle, Russell struggled to take in volumes that would support his weight gain. Concurrently, Russell's work of breathing started to worsen. He had always sounded very snorty, but this worsened, as did his retractions when breathing, feeding, weight gain, and his oxygen levels at night. Dr. Hartnick has followed Russell since he was born. In his aerodigestive clinic, the team worked to increase Russ's caloric intake and figure out why his ability to breathe was worsening. Ultimately, a broncoscopy was scheduled to investigate further. What the Comeau family thought would be a routine exam to see the effects of Russell's cleft palate and laryngomalacia on his work of breathing, turned into something much more serious and urgent. There was a large mass found above his palate that was growing and obstructing his airway. An MRI was ordered to diagnose the mass, however while a treatment plan of the mass was developed, Dr. Hartnick needed to secure a safe airway for Russell. His parents made the decision to move forward with an urgent tracheostomy tube placement, and take on the 24/7 care that this would require for an unknown span of time. As Matt and Shay learned Russell's tracheostomy tube care at his bedside in the MGH PICU, a plan was developed to treat this cystic, lymphatic malformation. Drs. Hartnick and Rabinov would use a needle to drain the mass, and then administer a sclerosing chemotherapy drug, which would make the walls of the mass stick together in an effort to prevent its regrowth. Typically this sclerotherapy procedure takes between 1-3 treatments to be successful. Russell's first round of sclerotherapy went extremely well, and should start to shrink in size over the next 6-8 weeks. At this point, Russell had also had some trouble with aspiration during his feedings via an NG tube. With each feed, his parents were suctioning out milk from his tracheostomy tube. During his sclerotherapy procedure, Dr. Hartnick performed another bronchoscopy which revealed a moderate amount of swelling between his trach and vocal cords. Further testing with swallow studies were ultimately reassuring that there was no issue with his mouth, larynx, and no suspicion of something more serious such as a tracheoesophageal fistula. Now starts the long journey of getting Russell's feeding under control, helping him catch up to the weight he should be as a 6 month old baby, and getting him back to the comfort of his new home in Weymouth. His parents will continue to care for his trach as his sclerotherapy takes effect and the need for more treatments is determined, while his extensive team of doctors exhaust any and all medications to control his severe reflux.