33^rd Annual Miracle Tournament and Celebration Dinner

Treated at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, CA.

A soccer super fan, Landon played whenever he could and scored seven goals in just one game. Things took a turn when eight-year-old Landon couldn’t run the length of the field without losing his breath. He was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital, where it was discovered he had a mass that spanned his entire chest, collapsing his lung and putting pressure on his heart and kidneys. Landon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the stage 4 cancer had spread throughout his body. He faced a host of challenging procedures, including draining fluids from his lungs, a chest tube installation, a pic line installation, a bone marrow aspiration, and a lumbar puncture. Due to the severity of his condition, Landon could not be put under anesthesia, intensifying how excruciating these procedures were for Landon and his family. Luckily, the Child Life and Parent Liaison teams stepped in to provide peace and comfort to his family when they needed it most. Landon’s initial diagnosis came in the fall of 2020, which meant that he spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year in the hospital, under strict isolation protocol. After three long years of hospital stays and frequent visits, Landon had his port removed and plans to finish his treatment with the use of an IV. This year, he will conclude his cancer treatment, and get to return to the sports and activities he loves.

Donations to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals supported Landon and his family with Child Life and Parent Liaison programs to offer comfort as he battled cancer.

Treated at Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, New Jersey.

Thirteen-year-old Gabriella (Gabby) was running at track practice when suddenly she felt her left arm drop on her last lap. After she lost feeling in her arm, she quickly lost sensation in her left leg and fell to the ground. Gabby was rushed to the pediatric unit of a local trauma center. The hospital immediately took her for a CAT scan, which revealed a brain bleed. After several tests, the doctors diagnosed Gabby with a rare brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) rupture in her right frontal lobe.

She had to wait 10 days for a craniotomy to remove the AVM because they needed the blood to settle in her brain. A few days after surgery, Gabby was transferred to Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH) for inpatient therapy. AVMs cause stroke-like symptoms, in Gabby’s case, paralysis of the left side of her body and facial weakness. For 19 days in a pediatric intensive care unit, Gabby couldn’t move or sit up. During the five weeks she spent at CSH, Gabby received physical, occupational, speech, and recreational therapies, including aquatic therapy and targeted ways to help her walk again and smile symmetrically. Gabby arrived wheelchair-bound and successfully walked out of CSH on her own. Since then, started practicing soccer and lacrosse again.

Donations to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals helped Gabby benefit from various forms of therapies that supported her road to recovery.

Treated at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in Oakland, CA.

Ripley was born with a congenital heart defect and spent the first week of his life in UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals’ Intensive Care Nursery. A month later, he returned for open heart surgery to repair the defect, known as Tetralogy of Fallot, which reduces the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood to the body. He is part of a Cardiac MRI study at UCSF that is exploring the risks of brain injury in babies with congenital heart disease.

Thanks to donations to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Ripley received access to critical care to correct his heart defect.