EVERETT — It’s been two years since the Campbells celebrated the arrival of Hannah Mae. They worried and prayed when their newborn needed blood transfusions and a new heart. Those prayers were answered. Once again, their girl’s birthday will be a time to give thanks and give back.
On Sunday, Hannah Mae turns 2. Like last year, the Everett family will host a blood drive to reciprocate for transfusions their baby had in her first year of life. Hannah Mae Campbell’s 2nd Birthday Blood Drive is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Everett. It will help the Puget Sound Blood Center.
Hannah Mae had heart transplant surgery in 2012 at Seattle Children’s Hospital after being born with diffuse rhabdomyomatosis,a benign tumor in the muscle wall of her heart. Before the transplant, she received 59 blood transfusions.
Her mother, Jennifer Campbell, said the blood drive is not for her daughter, but to give thanks and help other patients.
“She is doing all the things a normal 2-year-old does,” Campbell said Wednesday. Hannah Mae is “even a little sassy, and puts her hands on her hips.”
The little girl still has a feeding tube in her stomach, but is learning to eat more by mouth. She is seen every three months by Seattle Children’s heart specialists, and is helped by Providence Children’s Center in Everett with feeding issues and physical therapy.
Like her father, Jonathan Campbell, Hannah Mae loves books.
“And she loves to color, and is writing H for her name,” Jennifer Campbell said.
Jonathan Campbell was raising his two sons, Cavan and Bryce, when the couple married. The boys are now 10 and 8. Soon, the family will be blessed again.
The Campbells are expecting another daughter in July.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Blood drive Friday
Hannah Mae Campbell’s 2nd Birthday Blood Drive, for the Puget Sound Blood Center, will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 215 Mukilteo Blvd., Everett. Appointments available (closed noon to 12:45 p.m.) online at: www.psbc.org/programs/drive.asp?URL=3853
Learn more at www.facebook.com/HopeForHannahMae.
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