Ellison’s Story

On May 11, 2024, our lives changed in an instant. What began as a normal Saturday morning became a fight for Ellison’s life after a piece of furniture fell on her as she sat in her bouncy seat in the living room. With no cell service due to a tornado earlier in the week, we drove toward help, praying the entire way.

At Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, doctors told us she needed emergency brain surgery to survive. There were no guarantees. We simply said, “Do whatever it takes.” As we waited, we prayed harder than we ever had. And somehow, through it all, she made it through surgery. She survived.

The days that followed were filled with uncertainty—machines, seizures, and long nights—but also small miracles. A squeeze of a finger. A stable number. And then, on day eight, Ellison opened her eyes. She looked at us, and we knew she was still there. Ellison spent a month at Vanderbilt and then was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta for just over a month of intensive inpatient rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation brought new challenges. Long days, hard therapies, some setbacks and another surgery to place a shunt. But slowly her light started to return. She began tracking voices, lifting her head, and making intentional movements. Every tiny step forward felt enormous.

At home, we began an intense schedule of outpatient therapies, here progress continued. There have been hard moments—seizures, hospital stays, regressions and another surgery. But Ellison continues to fight, and little by little, she keeps progressing.

We have just passed 2 years since the incident, the milestones once thought impossible became reality. She smiles, plays, eats, and works every day toward walking and crawling. Ellison’s weeks are filled with OT, PT, Vision, Aquatic, Feeding and Speech therapies. Ellison loves her brother and sister, swinging, music, patty-cake and her puppy dog Millie.

Ellison’s story is not just about survival. It’s about faith in the darkest moments, strength in the smallest body, and a love that never gave up. It’s about a little girl who continues to move mountains—one brave step at a time.

Ellison is here.

She is healing.

And her story is still being written.

She is truly our little SUNSHINE that brings hope, ignites joy, and reminds us to embrace each day.

Love,

Hylin & Denny (Ellison’s Mommy & Daddy)