2 brothers hurt in Memorial Day boat blast recognized at Holtz Children’s Hospital Heroes Parade

A special celebration for the biggest heroes children facing specific tough robustness battles was held at a Miami hospital thanks to a few local first responders and among those being recognized were two young survivors of a deadly holiday boat explosion The Second Annual Heroes Parade took place at Holtz Children s Hospital Friday morning The event have an opportunity to these heroic patients to be side-by-side with specific everyday superheroes To be able to look forward for an opportunity to get outside to see other kids going through similar experiences gives them the inspiration to participate in therapies throughout the week and gives them something to look forward to reported Kim Juanico Pediatric Palliative Care Nurse Coordinator at Holtz Children s Hospital The Heroes Parade celebrates pediatric patients strength and courage in recovery with a parade of cars from City of Miami Fire REscue Miami Beach Police and other agencies You know it s so major These children are so brave the courage they have dealing with these illnesses it s wonderful to have a day to bring awareness to what they re going through and what they re doing commented Miami Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Plasencia Although the event began in observance of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month every recipient gets their time in the spotlight no matter what battle they may be facing Attending this year s parade was the Rivera family Cassandra Rivera was out on the water with her husband two sons and a group of people for Memorial Day in Fort Lauderdale when the boat they were on suddenly exploded One man died and others were hurt including Cassandra s sons ages and The boys suffered serious burns and were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital We were in the last few days discharged but we spent the last days here since our last boat explosion revealed Cassandra At the hospital the young siblings had a long yet remarkable road to recovery One of my sons is a whole different kid He s himself again he s not stuck between four walls that aren t his noted Cassandra They took care of me as well as a personal burn survivor myself My husband was burnt as well Now this family is just grateful to have survived the horrific accident and thankful for events like this parade recognize the bravery of even their youngest of patients It s bittersweet to be honest to be able to walk and not be in the hospital doors but being here as like an outpatient stated Cassandra