Testimonial from Tinley’s mother- When building our beautiful family, we knew we would be without extra money, but we would have our family, our love, which is one of the greatest gifts of all. There was no way we could afford surgery. If it was not for the amazing, beautiful people that cared enough to help us! Help to change our beautiful girl’s life. The Hannah Storm Foundation has given our family the biggest, greatest, most beautiful gift a mother, father, child, a family could ever receive; our baby girl will have a normal life! Thank you so much from the deepest part of a mother’s soul… my children are my soul and you have gifted us what words cannot describe the genuine, heartfelt gratitude we have for you and all you do. The sleepless nights, the weight lifted, will all be because of the beautiful work that you do. You not only saved our baby, but you also saved us as well. Thank you, a million times, over for every amazing soul that cares about us. You inspire and gave us hope, and the best blessing anyone could ever receive.
Emma is a quintuplet and shortly after she was born, we noticed she developed a strawberry mark on her forehead, but we were told that it was nothing to be concerned about as it would eventually go away on its own. But it would get large and then shrink and disappear. We were just told to watch if more showed up or if it got near her eyes. So, we happily took her home not truly knowing the full story of what could happen with these marks. We noticed that it began to grow slightly but then turned to quickly! We began to fear for Emma’s vision if it continued to grow and spread at the accelerated pace that it was on.
A friend introduced me to someone who had the same experience with her daughter and had the same type of hemangioma in the same spot as Emma. She told me she traveled to Dr. Waner in New York for the removal. So, we sought out a specialist in our hometown and were referred to a cardiologist in Fargo. He indeed informed us that Emma’s hemangioma would never go away on its own. He also informed us that there was no specialist in this state that would be qualified to remove it. He actually told us no surgeon would remove it at Emma’s age but knowing my friends’ story I knew different and we sought Dr. Waner’s expertise.
The whole office has been so helpful and answered all my questions about Emma’s surgery and assured us that Emma will do great. Having one child with special needs and now having quintuplets has been a whirlwind for our family. We never dreamed we’d have an 8-year-old, a 2-year-old, and five 7-month old babies! With all of the ups and downs and twists and turns that our family has been thrown on this roller coaster ride we are just so grateful that we have found Dr. Waner and his amazing staff who directed us to the Hannah Storm Foundation to help us through our journey.
“When Sloan was born one of our very 1st fears, besides her health, was the outside world & how cruel it can be. School immediately came to mind & how would she cope with looking “different” from everyone else? Trusting my mothers intuition & shear determination to get our daughter the best care possible led our family on a journey from MT to NYC. Dr. Milton Waner & the The Hannah Storm foundation stepped in to help Sloan & in doing so forever changed the course of her life. As Sloan entered into kindergarten this week I was able to find peace in my heart & mind knowing that because of all of the help that has been given to her she gets to just be a “normal” kid like the rest of her class. I will let the teachers & kids discover all of her amazingness on their own because although she may now look “normal” she is far from. This little girl has been through so much & at times we forget that she is only 5 years old. She is wise beyond her years, has a heart of gold & can bring a smile to anyone that comes in contact with her. We are blessed beyond words for the love & support we have been given on this journey & are forever grateful to the Doctors, nurses, & The Hannah Storm Foundation for giving our daughter such a wonderful gift.”
Jenny McGillis
” I first wrote to Hannah Storm after I saw her talk about her birthmark on the news. I thought it was cool that we had our birthmarks in common and I thought she might like to read a copy of my story, Buddy Booby‘s Birthmark. I didn’t even think she’d write back because I‘m just a kid and she‘s a famous journalist and celebrity.So, when she wrote back to tell me she really liked my story and believed in the message enough to help me, I was really surprised and excited. Not too many famous grown-ups would go out of their way to help a kid they never met, but Ms. Storm had faith in me and my idea. She took a chance, agreeing to be a part of my book and writing the foreword, even before she knew how it would turn out. She didn’t just talk about helping –she really supported me and the message of Buddy Booby’s Birthmark in every way she could.When I finally met Ms. Storm in person, she was really kind and outgoing and friendly. She gave me a big hug and took the time to tell me how she’d gone through a lot of the same things I do .”
Evan Ducker
“We were looking forward for our sweet heart’s arrival to the world. Carrying our hopes and best wishes, our son eventually arrived. His face revealed that he had been kissed by an angel. We must admit that we felt anxious and helpless in the beginning until we met Hannah Storm Foundation.
We are from an ordinary but very happy family in Nanjing, China. Although our son suffered from Port Wine Stain, we had never lost the hope for finding a cure to his birthmark. However, the enormous medical expense was indeed posing a great challenge for our family. Thus, we are truly grateful for the Hannah Storm Foundation’s generous help. The foundation gave us the strength to face the problem and taught us that our son is cared and concerned by so many people. Hannah and her colleagues provided us with physical, spiritual, and financial support and made our hope to come true.
When we first watched our son’s treatment video on Hannah Storm Foundation’s website, we were touched by every gesture, every word, and every smile of the kind staff, we were in tears, and their kindness had been filled into our hearts. So much appreciation we need to express, we know our kind friends can feel this. The background music in the video is called Beautiful, and I know from deep down my heart that my son is beautiful, and all the people helped us are beautiful.
Thank you, Hannah Storm Foundation. Thank you, all the friends.
You are beautiful! “
Juan (mother of TingYi)
We are so thankful to have found the Vascular Birth Institute because without them we would of never had the opportunity to have the Hannah Storm Foundation help us nor would we have had the opportunity to have one of the top surgeons working on Cienna’s case. It was a long and stressful road from the beginning, from our pediatrician diagnosing her with Ptosis to two Opthamologists telling us that we had to wait until she was 6 months of age to be able to do anything. We were very frustrated and worried because the Hemangioma was growing at a fast pace and didn’t know how much damage was already done to her eye. Our experience with the Institute was nothing but positive and we were hopeful everything would turn out ok. We lost hope when we realized we couldn’t afford the surgery on our own, and the removal of Cienna’s hemangioma needed to be done in a timely manner. The Hannah Storm Foundation stepped in and saved the day, we were speechless and in tears of joy due to their generosity and could breathe a breath of fresh air knowing our baby would be getting the surgery ASAP, and avoid any further damage to her eye. Cienna’s surgery went amazing and her eye is healing beautifully. It’s amazing to see her be able to open her eye up all the way, and see the world out of two eyes instead of one. There are no words for the appreciation that we have for the Institute and the foundation. Thank you so much for making our dreams come true for our little Cienna.
