Kootenai Health medical staff moved mountains to make Dominic Buss’ 10th birthday a special one.
On Monday, Oct. 4, the West Ridge Elementary School fourth-grader celebrated his entrance into ’tweenhood while recovering from COVID-19.
“It was pretty awesome,” his dad Don said. “It started right off the bat with all the staff. The nurses made him a big happy birthday sign and they all signed it. One of our daughters brought in a bunch of stuff so he could have decorations in his room. At lunch, the food services staff sent him up a happy birthday card with a note in it. There were all those little extra special things.”
Two of Dominic’s three big sisters came to a window in the ward where Dominic could see them.
“They made signs and brought a cake,” Don said. “They held up the signs and danced like little fools.”
Dominic was admitted to the hospital Saturday, Oct. 2 after a visit to the emergency department and a COVID-19 diagnosis on Sept. 24 after he had been sick for a couple of weeks. A first test in mid-September was negative.
He was tested again when he was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 2 and it was still positive.
“As far as the birthday goes, it was really emotional and tearful,” Dominic’s mom Chas said. “We didn’t anticipate on being here. We were in quarantine for a long time, we never expected he would end up in the hospital.”
Dominic’s doctor and unit nurses cheered as he was wheeled to a window to open his presents.
“I was so surprised when I got there and I was so happy,” Dominic said.
“One of the nurses played ‘Happy Birthday’ on her phone when we were walking down the hall,” Chas said. “The staff here said they’d move mountains to make sure it was special for Dominic. I can’t begin to tell you how special it was for all of us. I know they went out of their way to make it happen.”
It was an exciting day for the young football player, who was pleased to report he received a virtual reality headset for his big day. He’s also excited to finally be 10.
“It feels awesome because now I’m in the double digits,” he said.
Although not totally out of the woods, Dominic is doing much better now and getting stronger every day, his mom reported.
