Champions is a Children's Miracle Network Hospitals program that brings attention to the important work being done at its 170 children’s hospitals. It does this by honoring 51 remarkable kids who have faced severe medical challenges, and helping them tell their stories.
The Champions program designates a child in every state who has bravely battled a serious injury or illness. The Champions represent the nearly 17 million children treated at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals every year. The 2011 Champions have dealt with a wide variety of injuries and illnesses including genetic diseases, organ transplants and traumas, as well as various types of cancer.
The Champions travel for a week in October, first to Washington, D.C., where they traditionally meet with their state senators on Capitol Hill, and the President of the United States during a visit to the White House. They then take a private chartered flight, provided by Delta Air Lines, to Orlando, Fla. There, champions meet Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals sponsors, hospital representatives and media partners who all convene to celebrate a year of medical miracles during the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Celebration event at Walt Disney World Resort.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Taylor's Story
Taylor Oliver
Age 10
Louisiana
CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital
Cancer
When Taylor was just 15 months old, she was given the diagnosis of phase 4 neuroblastoma. She spent three months in the hospital while undergoing chemotherapy. After all treatment was complete, the family received the news that the chemotherapy did not work. The prognosis was now terminal. Taylor was not expected to make her second birthday, just four months away.
But Taylor did survive. She survived when tumors continued to grow, protruding out of her head and disfiguring her face. She survived when a tumor threatened to block her airway and suffocate her. She survived when the cancer took her vision and left her “legally blind.” She survived when new tumors around her brain threatened to hold her back.
Taylor survived to not only see her second birthday, but many more. Now 10, Taylor not only walks but also runs and plays softball, soccer, and basketball. She has dreams of becoming a chef and owning a restaurant. It looks like Taylor will live to see those dreams come true, thanks to the biggest miracle of all: The tumors are now benign and Taylor is cancer-free.
Age 10
Louisiana
CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital
Cancer
When Taylor was just 15 months old, she was given the diagnosis of phase 4 neuroblastoma. She spent three months in the hospital while undergoing chemotherapy. After all treatment was complete, the family received the news that the chemotherapy did not work. The prognosis was now terminal. Taylor was not expected to make her second birthday, just four months away.
But Taylor did survive. She survived when tumors continued to grow, protruding out of her head and disfiguring her face. She survived when a tumor threatened to block her airway and suffocate her. She survived when the cancer took her vision and left her “legally blind.” She survived when new tumors around her brain threatened to hold her back.
Taylor survived to not only see her second birthday, but many more. Now 10, Taylor not only walks but also runs and plays softball, soccer, and basketball. She has dreams of becoming a chef and owning a restaurant. It looks like Taylor will live to see those dreams come true, thanks to the biggest miracle of all: The tumors are now benign and Taylor is cancer-free.
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