One-year-old Aydrik Sommer is Radiothon Champion for Children's Miracle Network

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® will be hosting their annual Radiothon the latter half of this week, Thursday through Saturday, October 13-15, and the event will feature a Waukon family that has experienced, first-hand, what the Children's Miracle Network does for families with children facing medical challenges in their lives.
One-year-old Aydrik Sommer, son of Jason and Dacia Sommer of Waukon, has been designated as a 2011 Radiothon Champion for this year's event. His mother shares below the story of his early arrival and challenges he has faced throughout his first year of life.

"July 25, 2010. A day forever locked in my mind. I was 22 weeks pregnant and hadn’t been feeling well. I thought, eventually, my symptoms would pass and everything would be fine. When they continued, I decided to get it checked out. I went to the walk-in clinic for a peace of mind that everything was okay. Thinking everything would be fine, I sent our girls with my twin sister and told her I would pick them up after the appointment. Little did I know I wasn’t going back home.
Dr. Steve Perkins was on-call that day. I explained to him what was going on and after an examination, he told me I needed to be admitted and transferred to the hospital in La Crosse, WI. He said I had begun to dilate. I instantly started to cry. Flashbacks of losing our first baby ran through my head. “Not again, I can’t do this again,” I thought. Rita Newton was the nurse working that day. She hugged me and told me she was going to pray for me. Little did I know how powerful those words would be: “I’ll pray for you.”
For nearly three weeks I laid in a hospital bed waiting. It wasn’t a matter of “if” I was going to deliver soon, it was a matter of “when”. In August, on Friday the 13th, our “lucky charm” was born. I was just over 25 weeks pregnant. Aydrik Andrew weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces at birth. From the second he was born, we lived our lives, literally, minute by minute. I put my body on auto-pilot mode, and that is how I lived for the next three months.
We knew it was going to be a rough ride. The doctors told us to expect days where Aydrik would take one step forward, two steps back, and two steps forward, one step back. In Aydrik’s case, he had more one step forward, two steps back. At 10 days old, Aydrik had surgery to repair what they call Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA). In layman’s terms: they put a clamp on a flap that needed to be sealed shut. Like a trooper that he is, he recovered well from this procedure.
Each day after that was different. We didn’t know what to expect. Was he doing well? Did he have any setbacks? I dreaded each call we made to the hospital to check on him. I was afraid they were going to tell us he wasn’t doing very well. Our fears came true on more than one occasion.
Aydrik had developed a few different infections and the doctors couldn’t figure out where or why. At one point he had to have a spinal tap done to rule out meningitis. Luckily, that came back negative. We never did figure out what exactly it was. Babies born extremely premature, like Aydrik, require constant blood tests. His blood was drawn every three hours for a while. He needed three blood transfusions because of this.
Late in October, Aydrik had gotten RSV. Another setback. It seemed we were never going to get the news of being able to bring our baby home. But on November 15, our dream came true. We took our little miracle home. We were all together as a family, under our own roof, for the first time ever.
Aydrik came home on oxygen and a heart monitor. This made it difficult for changings and carrying him. December 15, one month after coming home, he proved to be the tough little man that he is and was taken off both the oxygen and monitor. Since then, Aydrik has progressed at an amazing rate, which even impresses his doctors and nurses.
Our trips to La Crosse are becoming fewer and fewer. We started out making three trips a week, and it has gradually gone down to about two or three a month. He sees a dermatologist once a month for the hemangioma on his lip, and will continue to do so for the next couple years. Other than that, Aydrik is a normal, healthy, growing little boy.
Rita’s words stuck with me throughout this entire journey, “I’ll pray for you.” I heard the exact same phrase from a countless number of people while Aydrik was recovering. I have always believed in the power of prayer and will know that is what helped us and Aydrik get through one of the most trying times of our lives. We truly are blessed."
Aydrik's story is just one Radiothon listeners will hear about area children who are facing medical challenges with courage and strength, and their families who persevere with unwavering hope. Listeners are encouraged to tune in to the “miracle network” of radio stations in the La Crosse, WI area, including CC106.3, Eagle 102.7, Magic 105(104.9) and WLFN 1490 AM, which will host this year’s Radiothon. The event will be broadcast live from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, October 13-14, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 15.
Area residents are urged to call in and pledge their support for the Children's Miracle Network, with all money raised staying in the Coulee Region surrounding La Crosse, WI to help area children no matter where they get their healthcare or the nature of their illness.
"CMN has helped numerous families in our area, and will help many more in the future, if needed," stated Adyrik's mother, Dacia Sommer.
To make a donation, individuals may call 608-781-1477 or 800-853-6889. They can also text HOSPITALS to 27722 to donate $10 or go online to gundluth.org/cmnhospitals to make a gift. For further information about the event, see the advertisement on Page 6A of this week's Standard.