Abbey Balaker
Sparrow Children's Center
2016 Miracle Child
Abbey's Story (Written by News 10)
"I will never forget that day."
For Debbie Balaker, July 24th 2015 is forever etched in her memory, because it was on that day her two daughters were in a car accident in Lansing, her 16-year-old behind the wheel, her 13-year-old daughter Abbey a passenger. "Abbey was just bent over picking up a bottle of water and sustained major injuries," says Debbie Balaker. When she got the call, Debbie says she couldn't get to Sparrow's emergency room fast enough.
"it was extremely scary, and everything seemed like it was happening so fast," Balaker says. Besides a bump on the head and a broken nose, the physical damage to Abbey on the outside was minimal, but on the inside it was a different story. Sparrow's ER doctor gave Debbie two options: Wait seven hours , or go in for exploratory surgery right away.
"I'll never forget the moment I said if this was your child what would you do, and he said I'd go in right now," Balaker says. He did, and that doctor found the worst intestinal damage he'd ever seen in the past 20 years on the job.
Balaker says "if they didn't act fast it would have been so much worse." After four hours of surgery, Debbie got the news she had been praying for, "she's going to be fine, adjust life style, but Abbey's going to be here."
And here she is.. with a selective memory of what happened on the tragic day. "I remember being in the car getting out of the car laying on the ground being taken in the ambulance to Sparrow," says Abbey Balaker.
And after a year of seeing countless specialists, and going through hours of physical therapy, Abbey was able to complete the 8th-grade and is nearly back to normal.
"Sparrow is a very good hospital, very caring, loving people doing it for a good cause to save people's lives," Abbey says.
For mom Debbie, it was a Children's Miracle Network wakeup call. "I've been so blessed to have healthy children, and this just opened my eyes to some of what parents deal with on a daily basis," says Balaker. A grateful mother, and her miracle daughter both sending a message of giving to a community that has already given so much.
"And I do think people should give to sparrow, give time to sparrow, for what they done for us."
"I will never forget that day."
For Debbie Balaker, July 24th 2015 is forever etched in her memory, because it was on that day her two daughters were in a car accident in Lansing, her 16-year-old behind the wheel, her 13-year-old daughter Abbey a passenger. "Abbey was just bent over picking up a bottle of water and sustained major injuries," says Debbie Balaker. When she got the call, Debbie says she couldn't get to Sparrow's emergency room fast enough.
"it was extremely scary, and everything seemed like it was happening so fast," Balaker says. Besides a bump on the head and a broken nose, the physical damage to Abbey on the outside was minimal, but on the inside it was a different story. Sparrow's ER doctor gave Debbie two options: Wait seven hours , or go in for exploratory surgery right away.
"I'll never forget the moment I said if this was your child what would you do, and he said I'd go in right now," Balaker says. He did, and that doctor found the worst intestinal damage he'd ever seen in the past 20 years on the job.
Balaker says "if they didn't act fast it would have been so much worse." After four hours of surgery, Debbie got the news she had been praying for, "she's going to be fine, adjust life style, but Abbey's going to be here."
And here she is.. with a selective memory of what happened on the tragic day. "I remember being in the car getting out of the car laying on the ground being taken in the ambulance to Sparrow," says Abbey Balaker.
And after a year of seeing countless specialists, and going through hours of physical therapy, Abbey was able to complete the 8th-grade and is nearly back to normal.
"Sparrow is a very good hospital, very caring, loving people doing it for a good cause to save people's lives," Abbey says.
For mom Debbie, it was a Children's Miracle Network wakeup call. "I've been so blessed to have healthy children, and this just opened my eyes to some of what parents deal with on a daily basis," says Balaker. A grateful mother, and her miracle daughter both sending a message of giving to a community that has already given so much.
"And I do think people should give to sparrow, give time to sparrow, for what they done for us."