Name: Jason Hill
Age: 37
Family:Wife Lori, daughters Teagan, 4, and Tatum, 2.
Pets: Yellow Lab named Madison
Education: University of Florida, B.S. 1994; Florida State College of Law, J.D. 2001
Admitted to the Bar: Sept. 14, 2001
Employed by: Akerman Senterfitt
Field of practice: Real Estate Law
Professional Organizations: The Florida Bar
Community Involvement: Wolfson Children’s Hospital Red Wagon Parade Steering Committee; Six Mile Creek - Transition Committee
What is the Red Wagon Parade?
It’s an annual fundraiser for the children’s hospital. It helps with special needs and equipment purchases that aren’t in the budget. The parade is held in conjunction with the Mayor’s “Kids Day.” We decorate red wagons according to the theme and parade them around Hemming Plaza. We met our goal this year, exceeded $100,000 in donations.
Why did you get involved?
Last year, my daughter Teagan complained that her ear was hurting her. My wife took her to our family doctor who prescribed antibiotics to treat what he believed to be a common ear infection. Two days later my wife called me at work telling me to immediately meet her in the emergency room at Wolfson’s. When I arrived at Wolfson’s I saw my baby girl’s face was almost completely paralyzed on the left side. She looked very lethargic, and when she would cry, her left eye remained wide open while her right eye shut and the non-paralyzed portion of her mouth contorted as she cried out in pain. The doctors indicated that Teagan had a massive inner ear infection and she would require emergency surgery to insert tubes into her ears to alleviate the pressure that was compressing the facial nerve that controlled the left side of her face. They rushed her into surgery and indicated to us that she would have to remain in the hospital several days while they attempted to treat the infection. We were very relieved when Teagan awoke after the surgery and the pain had subsided but her face was still paralyzed. The doctors and nurses all assured us that she would likely make a 100 percent recovery and that her face would return to normal. Within a day Teagan was back to her normal self playing all day long in the hospital and loving all the great gifts that the various charitable organizations brought by for the Christmas season. After seeing how wonderful everyone treated us and the joy on Teagan’s face (although it was only half of her face) when the people stopped by to say hello and offer her gifts, it made me realize that I wanted to be able to help out others that might find themselves in my shoes in the future. That is why I took it upon myself to research Wolfson’s Web site. While visiting a hospital after joining Red Wagon I gave a little girl a stuffed animal and I made sure to put a hand on the father’s shoulder and let him know everything was going to be all right because she was being taken care of by a team of wonderful and caring people
How can someone get involved?
Contact Julie Hanley, Director of Development for Wolfson Children’s Hospital at [email protected].