Local ‘Miracle Child’ to help with telethon
Published: June 3, 2005
Long before she was a smiling, 2-year-old poster girl for miracles, Sierra Addleman was a 1 pound, 7 ounce preemie, struggling to survive.
Because of the care she received at Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, especially the use of special premature-baby sized monitors and breathing tubes provided through funding by the Children’s Miracle Network, Sierra thrived.
For mother Danielle Addleman, it is almost impossible to think, she said, that Sierra, born nearly four months premature on Oct. 2, 2002, has all but caught up physically and mentally with other 2-year-olds.
“They tell you from the start everything that could go wrong,” Addleman said. “She could go two steps and fall back three. She could get an infection, but nothing did happen.”
Sierra’s doctors worried mostly about breathing and growth challenges, which are common in preemies. But by the time Sierra went home on New Year’s Eve 2002, she weighed almost 5 pounds and required only a sleep apnea monitor, which checks breathing and is part of routine care for preemies.
Addleman’s gratitude, and Sierra’s selection as a “Miracle Child,” drove her to participate in this year’s Children’s Miracle Network Telethon, which will be broadcast live Saturday and Sunday on WTAJ-TV 10.
The Addlemans will join the families of Michael Wisor, of Olanta, Ryan Culp, of James Creek, and Mark French, of Lewistown, to share their stories of beating whatever medical odds were stacked against them.
“We call them ‘miracle children’ because they’ve all survived some pretty horrific illnesses,” said telethon coordinator Nanci Hall. “Every year, and I’ve been doing this 15 years, I’m just absolutely amazed at the number of wonderful people who are out there, who have such wonderful tenacity to help their children overcome these problems.”
The Children’s Miracle Network sets no goal during its telethon because “We built the children’s hospital one dollar at a time and run all our clinics one dollar at a time,” Hall said.
Still, she added, “People are so generous. We’re looking forward to getting a lot of phone calls.”
Last year’s effort raised about $600,000. Any money raised stays in the area where it originated. So, for example, if viewers from State College call in $30,000 worth of donations, that money is used to help children from State College.
No money is taken out for salaries or operational expenses for the organization.
Since becoming a Miracle Child, Sierra’s picture has appeared on advertisements for the telethon. She and her mother also will be featured during the live broadcast.
Addleman said she’s not sure Sierra understands what all the pictures and bright lights are about, but she hopes one day she will. “I always want her to be a part of the Children’s Miracle Network,” Addleman said. “One day, she will understand and have an appreciation of what was done for her.”
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