Patients in the Spotlight: Mia Fallone

Miraculously, Mia Marches On

Mia and her twin sister, Gabriella, came into the world just after Thanksgiving, on Nov. 25, 2008. The season of giving thanks was an appropriate time of year for the girls to have been born – Mia, who was not expected to survive the pregnancy, has overcome a seemingly insurmountable amount of obstacles and today, she is meeting her developmental milestones.

At birth, Mia had a head the size of a 5-year-old. She was born with hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluids that had made her brain swell, and with VATER syndrome. A child with VATER syndrome may have abnormalities in five different areas and Mia had three of the five, having been born without an anus, with a single kidney and with an abnormal vertebrae.

After nearly half a dozen surgeries and treatment by Golisano Children’s Hospital’s pediatric subspecialty teams in Neonatology, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Orthopaedics and Pediatric Neurosurgery, coupled with a range of intensive early intervention services, Mia is doing better than anyone could have possibly dreamed.

Her family participated in the Stroll for Strong Kids well before Mia was born, but they started a team of their own in 2009 to celebrate the success of their beloved little girl. To date, they’ve raised more than $5,000 for Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Click here to make a gift to Golisano Children's Hospital on behalf of the Mia's Marchers fundraising team.