Meet Piper: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® Hero

This kindergartener has a big personality and an even bigger heart.

That's pretty amazing considering how small she started.

Piper weighed just 1 pound and 10 ounces when she arrived 16 weeks early to shocked parents and Gundersen’s skilled Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) staff.

For months, her world was a special isolette that kept her warm and safe.

After 105 days in our hospital, Piper went home.

She’s our Hero.

During those early days, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® was there for Piper and her family. Gas vouchers helped offset the cost of gas needed to visit Piper, while meals helped fuel the family during long stays. It also provided the isolette Piper needed to survive.

“It is important to have this charity in the community because you don’t know how much you need it or how crucial it will be to your child and their survival until you need it,” says Piper’s mother, Amber. “Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals let us focus on what was important—Piper and her health.”

Piper has grown into a thriving 5-year-old who likes dolls, Taylor Swift, mac and cheese and recess. She graduated from NICU follow-up appointments last year.

It’s kids like Piper that show us that the smallest miracles end up being our biggest Heroes.