February 15th, 2019
Grace (age 5) can be found in the Great Room at RMHC, with best friend Ashton, playing kitties, dancing or preparing for futures as superstar singers. It’s a beautiful sight: kids with complicated needs laughing and loving without complication. And it’s in stark contrast to a memory of Sara and Craig being told their baby only had a 50% chance of survival.
Diagnosed at 17 weeks gestation with a rare tumor, the couple was living in Northern Wisconsin. Even the larger hospitals nearby were not equipped to handle the baby’s care, so they were referred to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. It was one of few hospitals in the country that had a birth center connected to a pediatric surgery department that could perform surgery on a newborn.
After weeks of monitoring and one scare, Grace was born at 34 weeks old. Her tumor resection surgery took place when she was just four days old, and luckily, there has been no sign of tumor recurrence. The chances of recurrence go down considerably at age 5 – so this past year was an extra special birthday!
Over these past five years, it’s not just Grace that has grown despite the odds. The courage and community provided to families by RMHC keeps growing right alongside her!
