September 2010

The bill passed on July 31, 2010!!  Sean's bill is now Sean's law!!  We would like to thank the following:

We would like to extend  a big thank you to Senator Steve Baddour from Methuen.  Steve was our chief sponsor in the Senate. We were referred to him by Ron Bersani the grandfather of Melanie Powell of Marshfield. Steve worked passed Melanies law, working closely with Ron.  Steve had also just passed the Booster Seat law as he signed on to help us.  Steve stood by us and supported us all the way with getting Sean's law passed. He was honest, upfront and whenever there was big news to share, he would call us personally.   He truly cares about children and about what is best for this Commonwealth.  We are forever grateful for the hard work and dedication of Steve and his staff. We would like to send a special thank you to Eleni.  Days after the birth of her 2nd child, she was sending emails and updates to make sure we were fully informed and comfortable with the process. She took the time to explain everything and never made us feel silly for asking.    Please remember Steve Baddour in November.  He deserves your vote.  

We would also like to thank the Senate President Theresa Murray for her hard work, commitment in getting Sean's law passed.  We are honored to have her as our Senator.  She is a classy lady who gave us her commitment to keep the children of this Commonwealth off of these machines. She was truly upset with the story of what happened to Sean.   She worked with us, the medical community, legislators and others to get this passed.  We are honored to have worked with her and look forward to doing more with her in the future.  We would also like to thank her staff especially Laura.  She has an extremely professional staff who took the time to stay in touch with us a weekly, daily basis.  We were kept very informed each step of the process and were given so much support and respect.   Please remember  to vote for Theresa Murray in November.  She cares so much about our Community and this Commonwealth.  She is very well respected and classy lady.  

We would also like to thank Vinny Demacdeo for his hard work and commitment to us and our family.  Vinny put in long hours at the State House working on this bill.  He never gave up and was a strong support advocate for us.  Vinny reached out whenever we had a concern or he had an update.  Many of these calls were evening and on the weekends.  He is truly one of a kind and we are so fortunate to have him as our State Rep and friend.  His legislative aid Bethany was a tremendous help.  Please remember Vinny when you go to the polls in November.  

A very special thank you goes out to Dr. Peter Masiakos from Mass General Hospital.  We met Dr. Pete on October 22, 2006.  He was the trauma surgeon that cared for Sean.  We have never met a Dr. who was so dedicated to his patients like Dr. Pete was to Sean. He treated Sean as if he had been his doctor since birth.   The 5 days we spent in the PICU unit with Sean, we developed a comfort and trust in a doctor who was so caring and kind to our family.  We spent the final hours of Sean's life with Dr. Pete helping to prepare us for what we needed to face.  In the early morning hours of October 27th we asked the nurses to please page Dr. Masiakos, their response was "he is a surgeon, he's not available.  She honored our request, within 5 minutes Dr. Pete was there.  He had slept in the hospital, knowing that Sean's condition would get worse.  Dr. Pete asked us to please reach out if there was anything he could do to help us in the future.  

Dr. Pete came to Sean's wake along with some of the nurses who cared for Sean.  The care that we received at Mass General was wonderful.  We have so much respect for nurses that work in the PICU unit.  They are so professional and caring.  They took great care of not only Sean, but Mark and I.  

A few months later I was contacted by a State Rep from the Cape.  Matthew Patrick was working on legislation to keep children under 16 from riding on All Terrian Vehicles.  It was then that I reached out to Dr. Pete and asked if he would be interested in testifying at a hearing in front of the Transportation Committee at the State House.  

That was in June of 2007.  Dr. Masiakos worked day and night to gain the support of the entire medical community in Ma.  He met with legislators and sent many emails and letters. All of this while he was still seeing patients and operating at two different hospitals.     We will be forever grateful for his hard work, commitment, support and most of all friendship.  

Dr. Pete has taken care of many children who have been hurt as a result of All Terrian Vehicles.  Sean was the first child that died in his care.  Because of his hard work, we hope that he will never have to sit down with other family and explain the loss of a child's life to something that was so preventable.  

Sean's law becomes effective in Massachusetts on October 1, 2010.   This law makes Massachusetts the toughest in the nation.  We hope that other States will model what we have worked to hard for.  

No child under the age of 14 is allowed on an All Terrain Vehicles.  14-16 may not ride on an ATV larger than a 90cc, must have taken education and training classes.  

The penalities for adults who allow children to continue riding on these machines is a lot tougher.  Vehicles also must be registered.   

There are no second chances when it comes to children's safety.  

Thank you to everyone who sent an email, made a donation, called a legislator, golfed in the tournament, attended the Irish Night, and was there to support our family.  We feel so blessed to have family, friends and live in a wonderful community.

When you see the #14 please smile and think of Sean!!