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Meet CHOC’s 2021 Local CMN Champion!

Our 2021 local Children’s Miracle Network Champion is April!

April’s Story

At 15-months-old, April’s parents took her to a local hospital for a 105-degree fever and trouble breathing. The hospital said April had pneumonia, but they couldn’t treat her. Her father watched April turn purple on the way to CHOC. At CHOC, April was immediately treated for septic shock. Septic shock is 98% fatal in children. April’s specialists diagnosed her quickly, saving her life. CHOC doctors also put April on ECMO support for five days with around-the-clock monitoring. Further tests showed that the septic shock was affecting April’s muscles, and April had to change hospitals again to amputate her leg to stop infection. This procedure was harrowing, but April’s life was once again saved. Doctors later determined that her septic shock was caused by a primary immune disorder.

Now 9-years-old, April happily navigates the world with a prosthetic leg. She loves to sing, dance, and perform in local theater productions. Her parents attribute April’s life to CHOC and the many doctors and nurses who treated April like their own daughter.

Thanks to support from Children’s Miracle Network HospitalsⓇ, April was able to use ECMO to support her heart and lungs. Her parents thanked donors saying, “There’s no way we could afford the medical bills. The fact that people donate money for families like us — a thank you doesn’t seem like enough for saving my child’s life.”