Good is finally coming from a local family's nightmare.
Wednesday, less than two years after Horst and Luisa Ferrero's 3-year-old son died from medical error at UF's pediatric clinic, the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation received a $5 million gift from Google's technology director, Craig Silverstein, a Gainesville native.
The money will go toward advancing the foundation's mission of establishing a full-service children's hospital in Gainesville.
"Growing up the child of two doctors, I understand the important role medical care plays in a community," Silverstein, who became Google's first employee in 1998, said in a press release. "The more I hear about this project and what it will bring to Gainesville, the more excited I am by it."
Deborah Peeples, executive director of the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation, described Sebastian's family as "deeply gratified and excited" about the gift.
"They feel this is a wonderful way to honor Sebastian," Peeples said. "We want him to be remembered as the little hero who brought the community together to improve the level of medical care available in Gainesville to a full-service children's hospital."
