Dear Variety,
I wanted to send you a formal letter regarding the iPad that Variety gave my daughter, Gianna. It has made such a difference in her life. As you know, she just went through a very difficult surgery called jaw distraction. Jaw distraction entails breaking the jaw on both sides and placing a plate on each side. There are rods that are placed vertically and protrude from her skin at the top of her jaw. She was at Stanford’s Children’s Hospital PICU for 7 days and an extra 7 days in a hotel until the rods were cracked off (it was as bad as it sounds). During that time we had to place a tool on the protruding rod and twist it 3 times twice daily in order to distract her jaw and make it larger. Her surgeon was able to distract her jaw 20 mm! This enabled her to breath better due to the fact that she had severe sleep apnea and very small airways. She is also able to eat, smell and breath through her nose due to both surgeon’s expertise. Both her father and I are so glad that we chose the surgeons from California, but it was extremely stressful from a financial and emotional standpoint for our family. It is so incredible that you and your organization were able to help through this tumultuous time. Gia absolutely loves her new iPad. She just received a new hearing aid which has a streamer that she’s wears around her neck. She is able to hear her iPad streamed directly to her hearing aid! It’s incredible. I truly believe that I have seen a difference in the clarity of her speech since receiving her iPad. It was so generous of yourself and your organization to give this wonderful gift to my daughter. Thank you with all of my heart.
-Joe and Francine Bosco