Meet Our Champions

For years, Luna’s parents knew something wasn’t right. Their once energetic daughter grew weak, tired, and pale. She caught every illness and slept more than she was awake. Despite countless doctor visits, no one could explain her constant fatigue, weight loss, and endless cycle of health challenges. When the family moved to East Texas, Luna’s health declined rapidly. She was sleeping 22 hours a day, barely eating, and seemed to be fading before their eyes. The morning after their move, her parents rushed her to the emergency room. There, doctors delivered the news that changed everything: Luna had Type 1 diabetes and was in diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that can quickly become fatal. She was immediately transported to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler, a Children’s Miracle Network hospital, where a team of pediatric specialists stabilized her blood sugar levels and gave her family the tools to manage this lifelong diagnosis. "We’re so grateful to CHRISTUS," her mom says. "They brought our baby back. She wasn’t Luna for a long time, and they brought her back." Since then, Luna’s care team, including endocrinology, gastroenterology, and donor-funded Child Life specialists, has become like family. She decorates her insulin pump with glittery stickers, crafts in the hospital’s playroom, and loves attending donor-funded diabetes camp, where all the kids check their glucose monitors together and no one feels "different." Now ten years old, Luna is thriving, cheering, playing volleyball, performing in theater, and laughing like she used to. Thanks to expert care at CHRISTUS and the support of Children’s Miracle Network, her energy and light have returned.