Adela Peskorz: Life Beyond Blythedale

Adela Peskorz, now in her sixties, was born with a congenital dislocated hip and was admitted to Blythedale Children’s Hospital shortly after she was born. She spent seven years, from 1955 through 1962, as an inpatient.

Adela's fondest memories include relaxing on the lawn at Blythedale and enjoying bedside visits from Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Belafonte, and Benny Goodman. Adela was the daughter of two Holocaust survivors who couldn’t care for a medically fragile child at that time but were grateful for the high level of care that she was able to receive, visiting her whenever possible.

“Back then, they didn’t have the kind of interventions that are available today and it’s been amazing to watch the hospital evolve to care for young patients,” she said.

One theme from her years at Blythedale that has resonated throughout her life is that of dedication:

“That level of dedication that was very clear from the staff, that stays with you. That endures."

"I really believe that sense of valuing people and valuing service and compassion, so much of the sourcing of that came out of my hospital experience,” she said.  

“Blythedale has a lot to be proud of. They made a difference in my life, and they made a difference I’m sure with all the other patients that were there with me. It counts; it counts for me 60 years later.”