Charlie Erbland
In early 2016, Rachel and Steve of Arcadia Valley, MO were living a full and busy life. They owned and managed a farm, had two dogs, and were raising 5 children ranging in age from 3 to 16 years. Steve traveled often with his job. Rachel home-schooled their 5 children. Both maintained the farm and…
Margot and Caratacus Stearns
Erica Jolene Stearns was born with non-isolated esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. She was mute until the age of 3, g-tube dependent until the age of 5, and tracheostomy dependent until the age of 15. Throughout her childhood and early adulthood, she witnessed her parents face numerous challenges as they confronted many complex medical issues.…
Colton Friese
On October 16, 2020, at approximately 4:30pm, 19 year-old Colton was on his way home from work driving his reliable Chevy Cobalt. He had proudly saved and bought himself a Dodge Charger in March 2020 before the pandemic started, but he liked saving his “pride and joy” for special occasions vs. day-to-day travel. Colton was…
Ryder Lee
Ryder became a patient at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon long before he was even born. The long-anticipated son and 4th child of parents Sarah and Nathan, Ryder has successfully won the hearts of his 3 older sisters and his second family here at the hospital. Sarah recalls the trip to her obstetrician for her 19…
Maverick Beardslee
“When you find out you are pregnant, you expect to have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and at the end a perfectly healthy baby,“ states Paris, mother of (now) 17-month-old Maverick. “It took me a long time to come to terms with his diagnosis, but now I look back and realize how blessed we are to…
Grant and Sebastian Moss
Grant and Sebastian are identical twin boys, who were born to new parents Amber and John on February 27, 2013. Amber had an uneventful pregnancy, and though the boys arrived early at 34 weeks, they came into the world seemingly healthy. After a couple routine days in the NICU stepdown unit of their local birthing…
Sariah Gettys
On February 14, 2018, Sariah (a 4-year-old aspiring dancer and model) and her mother, Shamika, were involved in a devastating motor vehicle accident. Shamika sustained injuries to her right leg which required multiple surgeries in the months to follow. Sariah ’s injuries were much worse, and almost unfathomable. She was in pulseless cardiac arrest at…
Noah Townsend
Kristi and Eric Townsend from St. Peters, MO were married in 2018. Having married later in life, they knew they wanted to start a family right away. For nearly two years their attempts were unsuccessful, despite rounds of testing and infertility treatments. The couple had almost resolved themselves to believe they would never have children…
Aaryn Wiley
Watching sassy two-year-old Aaryn have a meltdown, or dancing and singing to her favorite cartoons, one would never guess that she had a much more fragile start to life. For Mom Hannah – watching this “normal” child behavior is a gift she wasn’t sure she’d ever get. Hannah was working in 2017 as a…
Teagan Smith
Looking at 7-year-old Teagan Smith today, one would never know what she went through during her first several months of life. “I had a completely normal pregnancy,” states Teagan’s mom, Alex. “I had a total of three ultrasounds and was told everything looked perfect. Oddly though, my whole pregnancy, I just had this crazy feeling…