Thread by @SapnaKmd

Today is @Pat_Kochanek's last official day as Editor-in-Chief of @PedCritCareMed.

It is a bittersweet day. So I'd like to say a few words about my dear friend, colleague and mentor.

I may be the loud #PedsICU lobbyist, but he is the quiet crusader and sponsor. (Thread)

For over 1 year, @DrSeanBarnes & I would travel to conferences where #PedsICU colleagues would be present and beg organizers to let us share how #PedsICU #SoMe could benefit them. Most of time people said yes, & we were a novelty act, of sorts. It wasn't always a good feeling.

We kept plugging away, though. Promoting colleague's work. Offering to register and promote hashtags for #PedsICU conferences. We had a small but energetic group who bought in including @pccm_doc @ChrisCarrollMD @karen_choong too many to name.

On November 12th, 2016 in NYC, I got up on stage at #PCCC16 to sing poetic about #PedsICU. At that time we were lucky to get 500 tweets and 80 participants.

While I was speaking, @Pat_Kochanek was in the audience, writing me an email that said the following:

What happened next was in a word, incredible and sparked a movement within our community. @Pat_Kochanek had vision to know it could make a difference. He had trust to let me and the exceptional @PedCritCareMed #SoMe ambassadors be creative and take it in the direction we saw fit.

Aside from the impact on @PedCritCareMed, @Pat_Kochanek gave #PedsICU the platform of a lifetime. Our community has grown exponentially.

It's global. It's inspiring. And there's no sign of a slow down :-)

So thank you, @Pat_Kochanek. You are a visionary and have inspired and continue to inspire our #PedsICU community globally. You may be an @steelers fan, but you're my favorite Steelers fan :-) Thank you for your leadership of @PedCritCareMed.

You are a true #PedsICU superhero.

Tomorrow @PedCritCareMed will be led by another great visionary and giant of #PedsICU- can't wait to see what's next with @RobertCTasker at the helm!