CMN Miracle Child: Meet Pearl Hollan

Pearl Hollan looks like a typical 9 year-old. She enjoys playing basketball, being a Girl Scout and is doing well in school in Fair Grove, where her Mom works as principal. But behind the beauty of this precious little girl, are difficulties most parents can only imagine.

"Pearl was born in April of 2008," said mother Charity Hollan. "Pearl was born a very healthy child, as a matter of fact we didn't find out she was sick until she was about 4 months old. When Pearl was about 4 months old, we knew something was wrong and she actually went into heart failure. We started treatment with Pearl in St. Louis. It was soon after that, about a year later, that Pearl was actually diagnosed with cancer. And that's when we went on a roller coaster of treatments that we're still dealing with now. Pearl was diagnosed with kidney cancer in both of her kidneys. She lost both of her kidneys to cancer. And received a kidney transplant at age three."

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has helped the Hollan family both financially and emotionally through their ups and downs.

"Our family has been very fortunate that both my husband and I have both been able to stay employed during Pearl's treatment," said Charity Hollan.

"However, when you figure in, during dialysis, she was making a trip to St. Louis three times a week. A dialysis treatment is anywhere from six to eight hours, an entire day. When you are looking at those costs, when you figure in what it's costing us to miss work, to stay overnight, food cost, travel cost, and then, of course, lodging, we had to rely on Children's Miracle Network Hospitals to help us with that."

And the challenges for this family don't end at the hospital.

"One of my main responsibilities with Pearl is that she is taking her medication regularly," said Chris Hollan. "Right now she is taking 18 pills twice a day. So, 36 pills a day is what she is taking right now. "

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals understands the unique needs of each individual family.

"Other families rely on Children's Miracle Network Hospitals for prescription drug help, for therapy help, for help when they have a newborn baby in the NICU," said Chris Hollan. "They also help with prosthetics, wheelchairs, so many things that help families provide a good valuable life for their child. If you're considering making a donation, I can speak first hand that the money truly does go to local children. We live right here in the Ozarks. We live in Fair Grove Missouri. We need your support to be able to provide proper care, the lifesaving care that she does need to make it through life."