2010 CMN Miracle Kids
Each year, Children’s Miracle Network selects amazing children to represent the hundreds of thousands of patients who are treated at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta annually. The courage that these children possess is inspiring and the personal strides they have made are worthy of recognition.
Read the amazing stories of our 2010 Miracle Children below and watch their videos.
The Bishop children
For the Bishop family, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is almost a second home. Benecia, 13, Taquoyah, 12, and Bennie, 9, all suffer from sickle cell disease, a life-threatening blood disorder that affects the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body. Sickle cell disease can result in severe pain, serious infections, chronic anemia and damage to bodily organs.
Benecia has had seven strokes and several seizures, Taquoyah had a blood infection and Bennie suffered a silent stroke when he was 3 years old. All three Bishop children are treated at Children’s several times a month and receive regular blood transfusions. Their mother, Tamika, considers the staff at Children’s part of her family and relies on them when her children are sick or need routine care. Both Benecia and Taquoyah enjoy dancing and Bennie loves playing football and basketball.
Caitlin Cunningham
Caitlin Cunningham was born with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, a life-threatening cardiac condition. Doctors told her parents, Brian and Lisa, their daughter would need a transplant to survive.
On May 16, 1994, Caitlin underwent surgery and received her new heart at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. But that was not the end of her medical journey. Caitlin’s immunosuppressant medications, taken to prevent her body from rejecting her new heart, caused renal failure. In 2007, after her body rejected a kidney donated by her father, Caitlin underwent a successful second kidney transplant with her mother as her donor.
Now 16, Caitlin is a happy, energetic high school student. Because she has diabetes, she visits Children’s regularly and recently received an insulin pump so she would not have to inject insulin every few hours. Caitlin also sees the transplant doctors for checkups and attends several Children’s-sponsored camps during the summer
Marcus Nickell
In September 2008, Marcus Nickell was struck by an SUV after he lost control of his skateboard. He was transported by helicopter to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors removed a portion of his skull to help control the swelling of his brain, and put him into a medically induced coma to help him heal.
Marcus spent 20 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Though he could not speak when he first awoke from his coma, he used a dry-erase board, writing “It is me,” to assure his parents he was aware and fighting to get better. Marcus began therapy in the Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (CIRU), where he worked to get stronger every day. He then progressed to the Day Rehabilitation Program to continue therapy. Today, Marcus is a happy 9-year-old who enjoys playing sports and is thriving in school.
Jake Rodriguez Alvarado
In August 2007, doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta diagnosed 2-year-old Jake Rodriguez Alvarado with a brain tumor. As Jake endured an aggressive chemotherapy for 22 months, his parents focused on their faith and the hope that their son would get better. After nearly two years of fear, struggles and difficulties with Jake’s poor prognosis and intense treatment regimen, he is now finished with his chemotherapy and doing well.
He and his family demonstrated the importance of love, leaning on each other when they found themselves surrounded by a language lesser known to them in a city far away from their family. Today, Jake’s infectious smile charms everyone he meets. He is a social, happy 5-year-old who loves to dance and show off his meringue and salsa moves.