The Best Medicine
No magic pill can make Piper Breinholt well, but her parents are giving her the strongest therapy of all: a lesson about love.
By Liz Leyden 
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Reagan Breinholt scours the ground outside the children’s hospital for things to hand to her daughter – little things she can touch for the first time. Pine cones, acorns, fallen leaves. The sun is warm, but not too bright, perfect for Piper’s eyes. The toddler rests on a blanket, playing with the giant watch her father, Jake, wears especially for her. Tap, tap, tap. She looks up at him, and a smile stretches across her tiny chin.
Jake picks up a pebble. Piper studies it for a moment and then slowly rolls it back and forth across his palm, nimbly brushing aside the tubes that reach from her neck to the ventilator beside her. “Reagan” – Jake’s voice rises with excitement – “she likes playing with the rock.” His wife abandons her search for pine cones and rushes over. “Pip-squeak, look what you’ve got!” she says. It is not a place meant for picnics, this narrow strip of grass sandwiched between the hospital and a highway. The roar of traffic beyond the pine trees ebbs and flows.
None of this matters, not in the sunshine and fresh air. Not with Piper, outside for just the fifth time in her life, discovering the feel of a pebble against her skin. When Piper was born, it was all she could do to breathe. Instead of 24 ribs, she had 13. Her lower jaw was severely malformed; her tongue partially blocked her throat. Pulmonary hypertension – high blood pressure in the arteries of her lungs – strained her heart.
Within a week, doctors at New York- Presbyterian Hospital diagnosed her with cerebro-costo-mandibular syndrome (CCMS), a genetic disorder with fewer than 80 reported cases worldwide. It affects the ribs and jaw and often other parts of the body, manifesting itself differently in every child who has it. Piper’s symptoms were so severe, it was a miracle she survived birth. There is no cure for CCMS, no website where the Breinholts can devour stories of survival.
Piper turned four in May, but they’ve never been able to take her home to their small apartment in Manhattan, New York. Instead, they have structured their lives around whatever hospital she’s in. They travel three small highways to see her, as many days a week as their jobs as a hairdresser (Reagan) and an attorney (Jake) allow. Early on, Reagan and Jake came to a decision: though they couldn’t make their daughter well or give her the life they’d pictured, their family would be happy.
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3 Comments |
| Mee Ling Khor on 27 February 2013 ,11:41 Sometimes we wonder how GOD works. What would come out next to test our faith in HIM. Maybe we have taken a lot of things for granted and this is to show us how fortunate we are and how much love we have in us to share with others. I have a child with Thalassaemia and reading this brings back all my memories of the pain, worries and emotions I had to go through then. But most of all it also remind me of the love we have in us to share with others less fortunate and with our children. My daughter is an adult now and it's always a wonder for me to see how she have grown and GOD's grace in giving us all these trials just to remind us of HIS love to us. Keep the faith and don't ever give up. We'll see more in wonders as time passes by. |
| Mitch on 27 January 2013 ,17:29 I saw the same situation but different rare disease into a child. It was just really puzzling when both parents were really close to God and they have this big challenge in their lives. But do remember, God will not bless us like Piper if we don't need them. Keep the faith. In the case you have, Piper's strength is drawing from you Reagan and Jake. So be strong. God's grace never fails. I will pray for Piper :) God bless. |
| Kristine on 16 January 2013 ,20:04 This story is really inspiring. It touches my heart. I'll pray for them tonight. God bless Reagan jake and especially baby piper. I love you =) |
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