Care Close to Home

Miklos Homoki of Easton keeps up with friends

Miklos Homoki of Easton, Pa., was 3 months old when he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects the lungs. He and his mother, Virginia, had to travel to Philadelphia for care back then. “As a single parent, I juggled work and trips to the hospital,” Virginia says. “We got on a bus to Philadelphia at 6 a.m. for a 2 p.m. appointment.”

Seventeen years later, Miklos is doing everything his friends can do, thanks to the care he receives just 15 minutes from home at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s Pediatric Specialty Center in Bethlehem, Pa. A junior at Easton Area High School, he wrestles, lifts weights and hangs out with friends.

Miklos sees pediatric pulmonologist Robert Miller, M.D., takes medications daily to keep his airways clean, receives breathing treatments with a special vest and uses a portable breathing device. Miller’s colleagues, pediatric gastroenterologists Puneet Gupta, M.D., and Naser Tolaymat, M.D., help Miklos with digestion problems caused by cystic fibrosis.

“I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything, because I’ve always had this and I have the help I need,” Miklos says.

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