Meet Our Champions

Born at 38 weeks via an emergency footling breech delivery, Madi entered the world silently with an Apgar score of 0 and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Carilion Children’s. Doctors placed her on a cooling bed to slow brain and organ damage, and she spent 31 days fighting for her life. When discharged, she went home with a G-tube for feeding. Just 10 days later, Madi returned in critical condition. Emergency surgery revealed a malrotation with volvulus, and she was septic. During her hospitalization, she endured four surgeries, including the removal of half her small intestine. In total, Madi spent 144 days at Carilion Children’s, where her care team stood beside her family through every setback and victory. Discharged at six months old, Madi has needed only two hospital visits since. Now four, her story is one of resilience and the life-saving care of Carilion Children’s.