Great Patient Experience
Changes Many Lives

One 16-year-old boy can pursue his dream of becoming a firefighter and his parents are now employees of UCLA Health System, all because of the skills of one surgeon and our staff's dedication to "the patient experience." This true story proves how each one of us, in our own small way, can literally change the lives of our patients and their families.

It all began when Malia Solomon, then a surgical assistant at a Las Vegas hospital, received a phone call that her son, Donaven Hookano, was experiencing head pain, vision loss in his left eye and convulsive seizures. The diagnosis: hemorrhaging in his brain caused by a cavernous angioma, a potentially fatal or debilitating condition. The decision was made to transfer Donaven to Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA where he could be treated by neurosurgeon Jorge Lazareff, M.D., The Geri and Richard Brawerman Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery UCLA.

What she encountered at UCLA, Malia says, changed her life. "I experienced the compassion and love that employees at UCLA have for their patients and family members. I have not seen this type of care in a long time. Parents should know that there is a place they can feel their child is safe and well cared for. I owe everything to Dr. Lazareff and the teams at UCLA for their support," she says.

Dr. Lazareff and his entire team took the time to introduce themselves and constantly reassure Donaven and his family that he was going to be fine. They kept Malia informed before, during and after the nine-hour successful surgery.

The whole experience convinced Malia and her husband, Logan Hookano, that they wanted to pull up their roots in Las Vegas and move to Los Angeles to be a part of the UCLA family and to help other families experience the kind of "comfort, care and love" they received from Dr. Lazareff and his team. "I would walk to the end of the world for my son, and if UCLA was in China, we would be in China now," says Logan.

Malia is now a surgical technician for Jules Stein Eye Institute and Logan is a cook in the Department of Nutrition at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. And Donaven is a thriving teenager with his own dreams for the future.

To view a video of Donaven's story, visit uclahealth.org/patientstories