The Manning Family Children’s PICU: A sanctuary of hope and healing for two young sisters

Paul Dupuis has never doubted that the world’s best children’s hospital is right here in Louisiana. Paul serves as Director of Public Safety at Manning Family Children’s in New Orleans, and while he may be a bit biased, his admiration for the compassionate care delivered in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) only grew stronger after a tragedy landed two family members in the PICU at Manning Family Children’s. 

Paul recalled the outstanding care his two, now-grown sons received at Manning Family Children’s over the years. In fact, until January 18, 2025, it had been a long time since his focus had shifted from anything other than safety and security within the hospital walls. 

In the early morning hours of that day, just as New Orleans was hit by a historic winter snowstorm, Paul and his wife of nearly 25 years, Ashley, found themselves caught in the middle of a devastating storm within their own family. 

On that tragic Saturday, Ashley’s cousin, Glenn Bohne, 46—whom she had grown up with and considered more like a brother—shot and killed his wife and 2-year-old daughter. He also shot his two older daughters, Tien, 13, and Ly Lynn, 10, before sheriff’s deputies fatally shot him in his River Ridge, Louisiana home. 

According to news reports at the time, police arrived at Bohne’s home in the early hours of the morning, just minutes after 13-year-old Tien bravely called 911. What they found inside was described as devastating. Ly Lynn and Tien had severe gunshot wounds to the abdomen and leg. Ambulances were immediately dispatched to transport the young girls to Manning Family Children’s. 

A short time later, Paul and Ashley were awakened by a phone call from Sheriff Joseph Lopinto of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. Paul knew the sheriff well, having worked in the department before joining Manning Family Children’s. 

“He asked me if I knew Glenn Bohne,” Paul recalled. “Of course, I said I did, and then he told me what had happened. Ashley and I got dressed, jumped in the car, and were on our way to the hospital within minutes.” 

Once at Children’s, the couple found their older surviving niece, Tien, in the Emergency Department with a fractured ankle where she was shot hours earlier. Ly Lynn, they learned, had already been in surgery for hours.  

In fact, surgeons were performing the first of over 10 surgeries the fourth grader would endure over the next three months. Her older sister, Tien, remained hospitalized at Children’s for two weeks following the incident, receiving essential wound care. 

“All we knew at the time was Ly Lynn had extensive injuries to the abdomen and there were so many internal injury repairs the doctors needed to attend to,” Paul said. “We had no idea she would be in the PICU for 80 days. But if it had to happen, I am so glad she was at the best hospital for care.”   

The PICU at Children’s is a critical care unit that provides advanced care for children with injuries and life-threatening illnesses. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and staffed by highly skilled and experienced medical specialists, the PICU delivers world-class pediatric healthcare. With 17 private patient rooms, the unit encourages family involvement through open visitation and allows one adult to stay overnight in the patient’s room. 

The doctors and nurses who staff the PICU are dedicated to family-centered patient care. Parents are involved in daily rounds and are consulted about all treatment plans. 

“I’ve spent my career in law enforcement and have seen many traumatic situations—I’ve been in plenty of medical facilities,” Paul said. “But I knew Children’s was exactly where the girls needed to be. The care they received was outstanding. They treated Ly Lynn like she was the patient. When it’s your own family, it really hits home. They were incredibly good to her.” 

Ly Lynn was discharged on April 4 with a walker, a wheelchair, and a leg brace. She is undergoing extensive physical therapy at Children’s. 

Both girls are in counseling, and Paul and Ashley have decided to wait to discuss what happened until they are ready to talk. For now, they want to keep everything status quo.  

“Right now, we are trying to focus on the positive. Both girls have a lot of friends. They are staying in their same schools. We don’t want to change things,” Paul said. 

Tien has already returned to Archbishop Chapelle High School in Metairie where she is in the eighth grade. She will continue high school there with the friends she has gone to school with for so many years.  

Ly Lynn will likely not be able to return to school until she starts fifth grade in a few months. But, again, she will be back with her friends in the elementary school she knows well. 

Both girls can’t wait to get back to the activities they love – basketball and football, and Ly Lynn sings in the choir.  

Paul and Ashley, who were already close with the girls, immediately agreed to foster them with a plan to adopt them as their own as soon as possible. While they were in the hospital, the couple took turns staying overnight. “We didn’t want either of them to ever be alone,” Paul said. “And, now, at home with us, they will never be alone.” 

The Dupuis are used to having a big family. Paul has three adult sons from his first marriage, Ashley has an adult daughter from a previous marriage, and they have two sons together. Plus, Paul has six brothers and sisters with families of their own.  

“Tien and Ly Lynn just gained 30 to 40 cousins,” Paul said. “We will do everything in our power to make sure they have everything they want and need.”