Lucy's illness inspires father to switch careers

Joseph D. Colello realized a few years ago that his heart wasn't in his work when he was the president and chief executive officer of Frontenac Crystal Springs, Clayton.

The Watertown resident, 36, resigned from that post Nov. 1 to pursue a medical career after his daughter, Lucy A., 7, died in 2008 of pulmonary bronchodysplasia, or chronic lung disease.

"This is what I've been wanting to do for a while," he said. "I just want to work with kids like Lucy."

After Mr. Colello went to an open house last year at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, he decided to take prerequisite courses at Jefferson Community College, Coffeen Street. He received his acceptance letter to Upstate Medical last week.

He will have to travel only a few miles across the city to attend classes in the fall because the medical college will hold distance-learning classes for its respiratory therapy program at JCC.

The Colello family, including wife Robin M. and daughter Isabella P., 12, became familiar with respiratory therapy when Lucy was brought home from being in the neonatal intensive-care unit at Crouse Hospital, Syracuse, for two and a half months after she was born Aug. 31, 2000. She also was put on a respirator at night.

"We were thrust right into it," Mr. Colello said. "I became very knowledgeable about that, to the point where at times I knew more than the nurses that came in and helped us."

Lucy was handicapped from birth, and although she was never diagnosed with a true illness early on, Mr. Colello said, she had stiffening of the limbs.

She was the "Miracle Baby 2001" for the Children's Miracle Network of Northern New York at Samaritan Medical Center.

Mr. Colello said Lucy had several surgeries at Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts, as she was a part of the vertical expandable prosthetic titanium rib project as well as the hospital's respiratory care program.

"She was on a vent at home and had a tracheostomy for five years," he said.

At times, Lucy also would need nebulizer treatments.

Mr. Colello said in learning how to take care of his daughter, he knew he was meant to help sick children.

He said it would be a dream to complete his clinical rounds of the respiratory therapy program at a children's hospital and eventually work in one.

Mr. Colello graduated from SUNY Cobleskill in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and was hired at Frontenac Crystal Springs shortly after. The decision to switch careers after being at a company for more than a decade wasn't made lightly, he said, but he received support from his entire family.

Mr. Colello said his daughters, Isabella and Nina G., 5, are thrilled.

"To quote my 12-year-old, 'Dad, this is what you're meant to do. You're a natural,'" he said.