Welcome Orange County Participants!

Orange County's Miracle Child Story:

Born at 29 weeks Ava Harkenrider burst into the world screaming to the delight of her parents and doctors at a local hospital in Orange County. Although born prematurely, Ava was hospitalized for nine days before her tiny body showed very serious of problems. She was being treated with antibiotics for an infection, but went into septic shock. Doctors tried to prepare her parents Leslie and Tom for the worst and transferred little Ava to CHOC were she could receive specialized treatment at the NICU. At CHOC the Harkenrider's met Dr. Lam who made them feel calm and assured them that everything possible would be done to save Ava's life.

Within 24 hours of arriving at CHOC she had exploratory surgery to determine her prognosis; she was diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). Sections of her bowels and intestines were dying and had to be removed. Surgeons removed 1/3 of Ava's large bowel, a section of her small intestines, her ileocecal valve and her appendix. It was a very long road to recovery and Baby Ava had several other serious medical procedures at CHOC including surgery for a heart murmur. After six months of care and healing at CHOC, Ava was able to go home for the first time. Her parents had to be taught how to care for her at home with a feeding tube, a Broviak which is a central line (Tom and Leslie hooked up Ava's I.V. nightly for 6 months) as well as monitor her apnea home monitor. Ava had her feeding tube removed after two years and just recently had her semi-permanent catheter removed. She is now a happy, healthy, energetic 5 year old with an infectious smile and gentle spirit!