One of my favorite experiences as Miss Capital City is my experience visiting the children at St. John's Children's Hospital in Springfield, IL. Let me tell you--actually meeting the patients who are being treated and helped there is extremely moving. It was amazing to meet 'miracle kids' who had beaten the odds and survived various life-threatening health problems. Besides the kids, I met many of their family members who must put their lives on hold and spend countless hours in hospital rooms, waiting for their children to be diagnosed, treated, and hopefully start their journey to recovery.
I met the majority of the patients during my visit. Among the children there, I met a toddler who was recovering from major burns on his body, several kids recovering from having their appendixes removed, and children with rare kidney or genetic condition. I also talked with a girl who was about to go back home after getting her tonsils removed. I let her wear my crown, which definitely brought a smile to her face!
All of the kids there have different stories and each one touched my heart. However, I was most affected by two patients: While in the ICU, a young boy's grandma shared with me that her special needs grandson named Jeffrey had just gotten off life support that day! She said that the doctors did not think he would make it, but he miraculously pulled through. Praise God! It was just amazing to be there and hear the emotion in her voice as she told me her good news, and I was so happy for Jeffrey. Finally, I was allowed to visit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and I will never forget my experience there. I was taken into several 'pods' where the nurses care for premature babies, who each have their own little (and extremely expensive) incubator. Marco was born 16 weeks early and weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces--he was the smallest human being I have ever seen. It's hard to express what it's like to meet one of these precious babies, who are now able to be treated with much higher survival rates with the advanced technology and amazing doctors they have there. He was so tiny and precious, and it was very moving to witness. You can see the nurses holding one of the preemies in the background of the picture below. Experiencing that really reminded me that people are so valuable- no matter how small or what stage of life they are at!
It's comforting to know that when children in Central Illinois need treatment, there are some amazing facilities close by where they will be taken care of extremely well, especially because of the funds provided by Children's Miracle Network--including St. John's Children's Hospital in Springfield and the Children's Hospital of Illinois in Peoria, IL. Please consider making a donation to support CMN on my donation webpage http://www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx?i=24788EEA3B471B. I saw first hand that those kids need it and deserve it!
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