Entrepreneur reunites with Children’s National doctor who helped him see again

It has been over a decade since they’ve seen each other, but a local entrepreneur and the childhood doctor that gave him the gift of sight reconnected this week.

Not only did he reconnect with his ophthalmologist, he is also planning to donate thousands of meals over the next several months to Children’s National Hospital in D.C.

“Oh my God, how did you find me,” Dr. Marijean Miller said the moment she saw Stefano Marzano, the founder of Mighty Meals.

They met at the Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus.

“With glasses, now I can see 20/20,” Marzano told Dr. Miller.

When he was a baby, Marzano’s parents realized he was blind after looking at family photos.

Everyone else’s eyes showed red and his remained black. The flash of the camera will bounce back off the retina and sometimes make eyes appear red. But the way Marzano’s eyes stayed black signaled a potential issue with his eyesight.

When he was a small child, Marzano had numerous surgeries and procedures, including cataract surgery and a procedure to place new lenses in his eye. That all eventually allowed him to see.

“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I’d be here today with my own company,” Marzano told WTOP.

Both of Marzano’s parents were at the reunion, hugging Miller and thanking the doctor for giving their son his sight back.

“I was just speechless. I really thought my son was going to be blind, and if it wasn’t for Dr. Miller, we would not be here, my son would not be able to see. So, for me, it’s a miracle, truly a miracle,” Deb Marzano told WTOP.

Stefano Marzano co-founded Mighty Meals, a healthy meal delivery service, in 2015 and has expanded to deliver meals in dozens of states across the country.

The company has begun a huge push to fight food insecurity and has focused on Children’s National. They will be donating 10,000 meals over the next 10 months to patients and their families at the hospital.

“It’s really cool to come back as a previous patient that is now healthy, recovered, has vision and be able just to be a small part of the to the community and help give back and fight food insecurity,” Stefano Marzano said.

WTOP/Luke Lukert

WTOP/Luke Lukert

WTOP/Luke Lukert

WTOP/Luke Lukert

He said the initial 10,000 meals is just the beginning, and he hopes to provide meals to Children’s National indefinitely.

“The first decade was about growth. The next decade from the company is about mission and purpose,” Marzano said.

The Marzano matriarch added: “As a mother, I’m super proud. I could not be prouder, and the fact that he now is coming full circle and giving back to the community, especially to Children’s Hospital, that’s huge. I think he’ll inspire a lot of children that are going through this, because it’s not an easy journey, but the result was amazing.”

The Marzano family and Miller reminisced and talked about his care for the next hour before parting ways again and promising to keep in touch.

Miller on reuniting with her former patient: “I know the people that I have taken care of, and there’s personal joy in that, but to hear the other side of the story, it’s just wonderful.”

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