"I thought she must have Hannah confused with another child," said Darlene. "I had never heard anything negative about Hannah. She was always a quiet child."Soon thereafter, Hannah's vision failed and she became forgetful. "She couldn't dress herself," said Darlene. "She forgot which way to put her pants on." Meanwhile, Hannah was drinking a lot more water and urinating more frequently.
"Hannah was not acting like my little girl," said Darlene. "I didn't know this little person anymore. We took her to the doctor. Even though some people thought I was paranoid, I knew deep in my heart something was wrong."
Finally, a CT scan showed that Hannah had an inoperable brain tumor. Her brain swelled and she became paralyzed on one side. She had to wear diapers and could barely talk. Doctors also discovered she had diabetes incipidus, a condition caused by the tumor that produced more sodium in her body than she could process. At the time, she was eight years old.
"She would communicate with me through hand signals and strange sounds," said Darlene. "It was scary to watch." Hannah was given chemotherapy and radiation treatments followed by blood transfusions every month. Gradually, she started to improve. "I would watch her cheeks and lips turn red and see her start to feel better," said Darlene.
Today, Hannah is a ten year old at Cherrydale Elementary. She has 20-20 vision and likes to sing and dance. She also talks about her cancer journey with others. She was a guest speaker for Relay For Life and Hillcrest High School. She is happy to be alive.
"My husband had always been a big blood donor," said Darlene. "This meant a lot more to us as we watched Hannah receive blood donations. When she sings Amazing Grace today it has such a special meaning. She once was blind, but now she can see. She couldn't walk, talk or rollover. She was like an infant...I have seen a miracle."