Danielle Hamby Dreamed and Prayed for her Southern Little Girl

This beautiful story of dreams, faith and courage was sent to us by Danielle Hamby of Phil Campbell, Al. She shared her story full of strength and struggle with us here:

"All my life I dreamed and prayed for a perfectly southern little girl. She would be strong, kind and a good friend. I knew I would dress her in beautiful smocks, bows, knee-high socks and pearls. I’ve always loved how classic and timeless pearls are and cherish the pearls my great-grandmother gave me.

Of course, God gave me two boys first, Wilson and Lawson. As soon as I found out I was pregnant with a girl, I did what any mom does—started scrolling Pinterest. That is where I discovered Add-a-Pearl. I loved the idea of having a beautiful strand of pearls for a daughter to wear down the aisle that represented each year we “prepared” her for her future! I immediately pinned it and added it to a note in my phone so I would remember!

On January 29, 2019 I gave birth to a beautiful 8lb 12oz baby girl named Landyn. My husband and I, along with her two older brothers, were immediately in love. When Landyn was a week old, she began projectile vomiting. She would feed for an hour, immediately vomit and repeat the whole process. At first, our pediatrician brushed it off as acid reflux. Finally after 3 months of not being able to go anywhere without multiple changes of clothes for both of us, multiple burp cloths (which were actually receiving blankets) and warning people before they held her...we found the most amazing nurse practitioner who heard this worried mom’s plea for help and began ordering tests.

At 3 months old, my sweet girl had her first test, an upper GI study. I knew something wasn’t right when I got a call from the pediatrician before I made it home from the test. They discovered something called a pylorospasm as well as acid reflux and thought it was in our best interest to refer Landyn to a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children’s of Alabama Birmingham. We began medications for the acid reflux, which never helped and waited for her appointment. After 3 months of waiting, we made our first (of many) 2 hour journey to Birmingham. Once there, Dr. Soong also believed it was severe acid reflux and wanted to see if Landyn would outgrow it on her own, which is very common and typically happens between 9-10 months. After even more waiting, we returned when Landyn was 10 months old and the vomiting still hadn’t stopped. At this point, all the doctors agreed it was time to take the next step: endoscopy and a pH probe study—which meant an overnight stay. No surprise, we waited another two months. January 2020 we traveled to Birmingham for the endoscopy and overnight pH probe study. Both of those came back completely normal! Last week, (January 27, 2020) we returned to Birmingham for a follow-up. Landyn had lost weight and an abdominal ultrasound showed some concern with her kidneys. Thankfully, they believe her kidneys are fine. But we have to change her diet to gain weight and add a medicine that might help with the vomiting. Over one year into her GI journey, we still have no diagnosis or explanation for why our sweet girl vomits multiple times a day. She is in multiple types of therapy (feeding, occupational and physical) to help her learn to chew and make sure she doesn’t become delayed in any other aspects of her life.

When I pinned Add-a-Pearl to my Pinterest board in August 2018, it was just a special way to remember each year of her life on her wedding or graduation day. I had no idea of the struggles we faced. Now, it has become a way for our whole family to celebrate every milestone Landyn has reached: every surgery, every test, every therapy graduation, as well as every birthday! I look forward to the day where I can brush Landyn’s hair to one shoulder, put her necklace full of pearls around her neck and remind her how hard she fought and how proud she should be of every single pearl. I will be forever grateful for this company for providing such a special way to celebrate every special girl, including mine!"

Thank you for sharing with us, Danielle. We wish Landyn answers, restored health and speedy healing!

Feel free to follow Landyn’s journey on Instagram: @daniellehamby