A Miracle Happened In Our Family

Hana

On November 12, 2004, our little girl Hana was born at Swedish Hospital. We were so happy to see her. Shortly after bringing her home, Hana started to look weaker and weaker. She was not able to eat, and her cry sounded very weak. Two days later, we took her to Children’s ER. We still didn’t think anything serious was going on. Hana was taken to the exam room, and a lot of doctors and nurses rushed into her room. Our happy moment turned into a nightmare after this day. That was the beginning of her life and our life at Children’s Hospital.

We lived at Children’s for 5 months. She had 3 major abdominal surgeries in the first 5 weeks. In her last surgery, doctors chose not to close the incision. It was an incredibly difficult time for us.

Hana was never diagnosed while she was at Children’s, and her illness is still a mystery. The illness was a puzzle no one could solve. The time was ticking, and Hana was getting sicker and sicker. Her breathing failed, her kidneys shut down and she needed dialysis. Her bowel was inflamed and infected, she needed constant transfusions of blood and platelets and the only way to give her nutrition was through IV fluids. And still, no one knew what was wrong with her.

Finally, she started looking better. On January 23, 2005, Hana was sent to a medical floor. Her incision was slowly closing itself, and her kidney was functioning. But in order for Hana to come home with us, she needed to eat. Somehow her bowels had to digest food without getting her sick. This was the biggest challenge. In the second week of February, we gave her half a teaspoon of Pedialite with a special nipple, but it was very difficult. The doctors decided to try a tiny amount of formula, but she became very ill. She had to return to the IICU. After several weeks more of recovery, Hana was sent to a medical floor. She practiced eating from the bottle, and the medications were slowly weaned away. On April 7, 2005, Hana finally came home with us.

Children's Hospital means everything to our family. There is no word to describe how thankful are to Children's. If there were no Children's, Hana would not be with us today. That's how much the hospital means to us.

After the third surgery, one of the surgeons told us not to give up a hope. It was a very bumpy road, but Hana never gave up and none of us gave up on her.

So many people at Children's Hospital helped save her life. We all wanted our little Hana to come home. Our dream has come true.

THANK YOU to all the people involved in Hana's care- the doctor's, specialists, nurses, social workers, palliative care workers, nutritionists, and receptionists. Thanks, too, to my husband's co-workers and so many other people who were supporting Hana and our family.

We didn't believe in miracles before, but now we do. Miracles can happen. Now, Hana is 18 months old, she is practicing walking everyday. She eats a lot, imitates her older sister, enjoys going to the park, and loves books. Watching Hana grow is like a dream. We are so lucky to have Hana here with us. Thank you so much Children's!!