The Hopkins Family

Michala Hopkins
​Michala had her first seizure when she was 3 weeks old. The next morning we took her to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for her first EEG. When she was two months old we were back at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for an MRI. We were told that they thought she had Aicardi Syndrome. Later that day the opthamologist confirmed the diagnosis. While she was having pictures taken of her eyes she was having violent seizures.

Michala was diagnosed with Angiosarcoma Cancer when she was a year old. Her leg was amputated in an attempt to save her life. She began chemotherapy when she was a little over a year old.

Today she is a happy child that loves to be around others and loves to clap. She as well as all of us is very thankful for all ya'll do to raise money for Children's Miracle Network. Thank you for standing for those who can't!

Marlee Ann Hopkins
Completely healthy!

In Loving Memory:

Mary Elizabeth Hopkins

Our journey with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta began when our daughter Mary Elizabeth was three days old. She was transported from our home hospital by Angel II. We spent two weeks there. The first doctor and nurse we met there are still dear friends of ours to this day. It shows you just how much the families mean to them.

On Mary Elizabeth’s first birthday we received the result from a muscle biopsy she had done three months earlier. We were told she had Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy. The next week sitting in a room filled with doctors and specialists we were told they didn’t expect her to live past the age of three. We left that room vowing to fill those three years with the most love we could and to live big. Still to this day we live big with lots of love.

Much of her life was spent in the hospital and at doctors' appointments. When she was three she did come very close to dying but we quickly found out that God wasn't done with her yet and He had more things planned for her and more lives for her to touch. Mary Elizabeth was 21 when she made her final trip to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She passed away there the next day.

Abe Hopkins

Abe was two days old when he coded. We were told Angel II was on their way to get him but they didn’t think he would make the transfer. It seemed our story was repeating itself. This time our stay was seven weeks long. Originally we knew Abe would be born with clubfeet but now it seemed so much more was involved. Abe was put through weeks and weeks of testing before he was finally able to go home. The care he received and the friends that were made are a story in and of itself for another day.

We were home with Abe for a couple of weeks before heading to our next Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in Iowa. For the next seven weeks Ronald McDonald house was our home while Abe’s club feet were corrected with the Ponseti method by Dr. Ponseti himself. Another beautiful story all on its own.

Finally we were back home in Georgia with our family all together again. CHOA was a second home to us because so much of our time was spent there between all of our miracle kids for appointments, tests and inpatient stays.

When Abe was six years old he passed away from Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).