Three-Year-Old Neurosurgery Patient to Lead Thousands as Grand Marshal of Event Supporting Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

Highlights:

- Nathan Tormey, 3, of Middletown, NY, has been named Grand Marshal of the 2011 Go the Distance fundraising event for Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center.

- Nathan's appointment ceremony will occur during the Go the Distance Kickoff Breakfast February 5th at 9:30 a.m.  He was a pediatric neurosurgery patient at the hospital this past summer.

- The annual Go the Distance event includes a casual, one-mile walk and a host of family activities.  Thousands participate in Go the Distance each year. This year's event is Sunday, April 10.

VALHALLA, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A quiet, peaceful evening last summer quickly turned into a nightmare for parents Amanda and Bryan Tormey when they were awoken by sounds of their three year-old son, Nathan, stirring in his bed.  When they checked on him, the cause of Nathan's restlessness became frighteningly evident; Nathan was in the midst of massive seizure that would ultimately incapacitate him for several hours.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101007/DC78126LOGO-b)

Nathan was rushed to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center where a short time later the hospital's pediatric neurosurgeons performed a delicate operation to remove a golf ball-sized lesion from little Nathan's brain.  The surgery was successful and with Nathan now healthy, happy and a symbol of Maria Fareri Children's Hospital's world-class pediatric care, the hospital has named him Grand Marshal of the 2011 Go the Distance event, a walk and family fun day supporting the hospital that saved Nathan's life.

Nathan's official appointment as Grand Marshal will occur at the Go the Distance Kickoff Breakfast Saturday, February 5.  Nathan, who lives in Middletown, New York, will be joined by his parents and big sister Alexia, 6, for the ceremony.  Kacey Morabito of 100.7 WHUD-FM's morning team of "Mike & Kacey" will host the breakfast, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital Conference Center.  More than 100 guests are expected.

Go the Distance, which includes a casual, one-mile walk and a host of family activities, is the biggest fundraising event for Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. Go the Distance draws former patients, their families, hospital staff and supportive community members from around the region and raises as much as $500,000 for the hospital each year.  This year's Go the Distance event will occur Sunday, April 10.

As Grand Marshal, Nathan will lead thousands of walkers around the Westchester Medical Center campus. To learn more about Nathan, Go the Distance and how to participate, interested parties are encouraged to visit www.WorldClassMedicine.com/Walk.

About Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center

Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center is the advanced care pediatric facility for New York's Hudson Valley region and Fairfield County, Connecticut. As home to the region's only pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric transplant program, burn center and cardiac catheterization program, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital cares for the area's most critically ill and injured kids.

A regional and national leader in children's healthcare, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center was designed from the point of view of patients and families as well as doctors and nurses.  In addition the hospital operates under the family-centered care philosophy, which encourages moms, dads, brothers and sisters to be involved in the care process.  These factors result in a special healing environment that puts children and their parents at ease so the whole family feels better.

SOURCE Westchester Medical Center