Children's Miracle Network Champion Kids
Every year, local member hospitals select a “Champion” within their community to represent children treated at their local children's hospital. These ambassadors dedicate their year to advocating for the charitable needs of children's hospitals across.
Meet William
Born via emergency C-section at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, doctors quickly discovered William’s umbilical cord had wrapped around his neck three times. A skilled team immediately fought to revive him, as he had been without oxygen or a heartbeat for 15 minutes. Doctors diagnosed William with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain injury caused by the lack of oxygen at birth. He then spent 18 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) receiving life-saving care.
Follow-up care at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children helped William grow and meet developmental milestones. Diagnosed with a speech delay and later autism, he began speech, occupational and physical therapies at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Rehabilitation. Today, William is a talkative, imaginative kid who loves Pokémon and performing. His family credits his progress to the dedicated care teams who never gave up on him.