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Ethan and Nicole Hoinacki have experienced this "comfort with
uncertainty" firsthand. It began last year when they learned their
unborn daughter was dealing with a major health issue with an
uncertain diagnosis.
A year later the Hoinacki's feel grateful because Sadie is a healthy
vibrant toddler.
A scary diagnosis
Just weeks before Sadie's birth, a sonogram showed a mass of blood
vessels in her abdomen; which is abnormal. Doctors told them she
would need surgery immediately after birth.
Sadie had an Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal
connection between the arteries and veins.
Though usually found on the spinal cord or brain, Sadie's AVM was in
her liver and was larger than her heart. As a result, Sadie's heart
had to overcompensate and there was abnormal blood flow.
On August 4, 2015, Sadie was born four weeks early weighing 6
pounds, 1 ounce.
At birth, doctors discovered the mass was inside Sadie's liver,
making it more complicated. Doctors needed to transfer Sadie to St.
Louis or Chicago. Since Hoinacki's had family closer to Chicago and
Lurie Children's Hospital had more liver specialists, they chose
Chicago. At two days old, Sadie was taken to Lurie Children's
Hospital by ambulance.
There, doctors did an MRI that made them even more concerned. The
AVM was taking blood from the lower half of Sadie's body and doctors
were afraid it may affect her intestines.
Doctors had Sadie just taking 5 ml of milk at each feeding, slowly
increasing it to make sure her body could handle food. They were at
the hospital 8 days and Sadie was gaining weight. To Ethan and
Nicole's surprise, doctors chose to wait on surgery and sent Sadie
home.
Sadie's early life was full of appointments with her pediatrician,
the liver specialist, and cardiologists since the mass also caused
her heart to be enlarged due to overworking. Doctors showed the
Hoinacki's how to check her circulation and look for signs of
failure to thrive.
Though Sadie's heart was working harder, echocardiograms of her
heart fortunately came back normal.
Sadie also had birthmarks on her forehead and neck that doctors
wanted a dermatologist to check due to concerns it was related to
the mass.
During one visit, a panel of twenty to thirty doctors from around
the world asked Hoinacki's questions about Sadie.
Doctors soon pushed surgery to three months, and then six months.
The surgeon planned to start with embolizing, or freezing the mass,
to see if that would work. If that did not work they would operate
the same day or the next to remove the mass entirely.
To keep people updated, Ethan started a blog.
After an appointment October 30, 2015, Ethan posted:
"Their team has been
discussing little Sadie’s situation and would prefer for her to wait
as close to the six to eight-month age as possible. They also
informed us that they are now leaning towards just doing one
procedure: to remove the mass (AVM) entirely instead of trying to
embolize (“freeze”) it first. This way they can close off her extra
arteries and know for sure that the mass won’t grow back."
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 A miracle
In January 2016, the Hoinacki's received unexpected good news just
three days before scheduled surgery. On his blog, Ethan posted,
"The doctors
are in shock. Our little Sadie, though she may not realize it, has
experienced a miracle. In order to get a more updated visual Dr.
Lautz, Sadie’s surgeon, ordered a CT scan today before her scheduled
surgery on Monday, only to find that her AVM has shrunk
significantly. Sadie’s once massive AVM consuming one-third of her
little liver has SHRUNK to consuming a mere 5 percent!"
The doctor called it the best news possible. He cancelled surgery
and sent them home that day. Ethan said, "Sadie’s situation was
already rare; now she’s redefining what the medical field knows
about AVMs. AVMs were previously believed to never go away on their
own. Dr. Lautz said medical experts used to believe that AVMs and
hemangiomas were completely different, but are now realizing they
share many of the same properties and might in fact be the same
thing."
An ultrasound in July of this year showed the mass was completely
gone. The doctor said to stop worrying about it because if you did
not know what you were looking for, you would not even know the mass
had been there.
This August, Sadie turned one-year-old and Ethan wrote a letter to
Sadie on the blog about her first year. He said,
"You are a miracle. We
know that all life is a miracle, but how God has healed you this
past year is truly a miracle! I’ll never forget Dr. Lautz’s
excitement when he shared with us that your AVM was disappearing.
Your miracle is one we will hold onto forever, one that will keep us
close to God when we go through challenging times in the future."
Rabbi Bahle says, "being able to notice the tiny acts of goodness
that are also happening in the midst of a crisis can help you get
through it. And your ability to notice these things is strengthened
by a regular practice of consciously developing an awareness of what
is good about your life."
 The Hoinackis have seen many acts of goodness that helped them
through the crisis.
Ethan said there is so much to be thankful for. They consider God
healing of Sadie a miracle. Doctors just monitored her; no medical
intervention caused the mass to shrink.
To see Sadie now, you would never know all she went through those
first few months. Now Sadie just sees the doctor for well-baby
visits or common illness.
Since Sadie was born four weeks premature, she could be behind, but
she has hit all her milestones. She is walking. She knows sign
language for words like more, eat, please, and all done. Sadie loves
reading books. She says no, mama, and dada, and tries to say her own
name. She is super energetic, into everything, and loves being
chased.
The Hoinacki's are thankful for people all over the world who prayed
for Sadie; some of whom were praying after seeing it on forwarded
emails or reading about her on Ethan's blog. Ethan met one person in
Peoria who had been praying for her just because she saw it on her
church prayer chain. Another person sent them a prayer quilt she had
made.
At this time of thanksgiving, the Hoinacki's are grateful for
prayers, miraculous healing, and Sadie's good health.
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