Hazel's Story : Greenville Hospital System (GHS)

For Hazel Hill, age 9, a day without doctors is a good day. As a 2-year-old, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease that affects the whole body but is most known by sufferers’ frequent lung infections and severe breathing problems.

Twice every day, Hazel undergoes treatment at home in a special vest that shakes her body to loosen the mucous in her lungs. When a respiratory infection strikes, home treatments aren’t enough. Several times a year, Hazel stays at Children’s Hospital for two or three weeks at a time, getting four vest treatments a day. Hazel also has had surgery to remove part of a lung – she has been coming to Children’s Hospital long enough to know the staff very well.

“I really like the nurses that take care of me: Noelle, Misty, Mandy, Evie and Melanie,” the fourth-grader said. “I also like seeing Dr. Gwinn and Dr. Abrams, and Memory, my Child Life specialist. They are all so kind to me, especially Memory, when I was nervous before my surgery.”

This year, community support through Children’s Hospital Radiothon provided a surgery teaching doll to help children such as Hazel. Child Life specialists use medical play to ease children’s fears by educating them about surgical procedures in a way they can see and understand. Many of the items purchased with funds raised by Radiothon are for that purpose.

Get Involved

To listen to patient and family stories shared on Radiothon, click here. For information on becoming a Radiothon sponsor, contact Gina Blohm, (864) 797-7739 or gblohm@ghs.org.