Treatment In Cincinnati
Cincinnati Enquirer | Author: Brooks Sutherland | Published: 10:00 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2022 Updated: 8:38 a.m. ET March 1, 2022
Salim Dellicker, 7, and mom Laura Dellicker are pictured boarding a plane during a trip to Cincinnati for an appointment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The Dellickers, who live in Chapel Hill North Carolina, have been traveling to Cincinnati for Salim's medical appointments by plane via the Children's Flight of Hope program.
Laura Dellicker was burned out.
It was only a few weeks ago that she drove nearly 1,000 miles round-trip from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, so 7-year-old son Salim Dellicker, who has two rare diseases, could have surgery with a specialist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Now, she was facing another long trip for a quick post-operation checkup, a visit that, because of the complexity of Salim's diseases, needed to be in-person and needed to be with his specific surgeon, Dr. Beth Rymeski, in Cincinnati. The drive would take around 16 hours round-trip.
So with nowhere else to turn during the early months of 2021 still in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dellicker finally sought some help.
“I just couldn’t do it,” she said of another long trip, which became increasingly strenuous on her son, who has epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin condition that causes blistering and requires bandages to protect the fragile surface of his skin. “So I set out looking for resources.”
Salim Dellicker, 7, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dellicker Family/provided
Children's Flight of Hope: How nonprofit helps families of ill kids who must travel to find care
Dellicker came across Children's Flight of Hope, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based nonprofit that sends children who need specialized medical care to hospitals around the country via mostly commercial flights, free of charge.
Shortly after reaching out, she was connected to the program, and Salim began flights from Chapel Hill to Cincinnati every three months or so to receive critical checkups from Rymeski. The flights, as opposed to long car rides, made an indescribable difference for Salim, whose skin blisters when it feels any kind of friction.
“I felt like I could breathe again,” Dellicker said of the first flight to Cincinnati. “Having a child who requires such intense medical care on a day-to-day basis is incredibly stressful and then you add in having to travel all over across the country, you add in the expense of that, it’s a lot.”
Salim Dellicker,7, and mom Laura Dellicker. Dellicker Family/provided
Dellicker adopted Salim, who was 3 at the time, from an orphanage in India in 2018. She was engaged in some nonprofit work supporting children who have epidermolysis bullosa and didn't have families. She was working toward getting those children, including Salim, a family willing to adopt.
"Long story short, that family ended up being me," Dellicker said.
Described by his mother as full of joy and a ball of energy, Salim, a second grader, enjoys kickball, foursquare and running around on the playground with his friends. He loves school, learning, and has taken a particular interest in the ocean, marine animals and the geographic locations of oceans.
