In less than three weeks time, a little girl from Martensville, Sask., and her mother will jet off to a medical consultation that could forever change the 11-year-old’s life.
Her parents say they don’t ever focus on their daughter’s disabilities – only her capabilities but an offer to help Faith with her hands is something they couldn’t refuse.
Their health journey started 11 years ago when Faith’s mother said her little miracle arrived. Faith Hope Wagner suffers from spina bifida but is an unstoppable little girl.
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“She knows how to write, read, tie her shoes, put her splints on, clean her room, put everything away,” mother Maria Sawatzky said.
Faith is an extraordinary little girl but that family admits at times she can struggle a bit with things most children would find routine.
“Sometimes, putting on my gloves can be tricky.”
Faith says doing her doll’s hair can be a challenge as well.
“She doesn’t have a limb over here and she doesn’t have a thumb, they’re all fingers and they won’t straighten out.”
Faith has had a total of 10 surgeries since she was born. Her family is considering an eleventh only after she said this.
“One day she came up to me and said I want my hands straight like everybody else.”
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Call it divine intervention. This past summer, the family went to a Shiners’ circus and were told the Shriners Hospitals for Children might be able to help to them.
They wrote and got a call before Christmas saying Faith and her mother would be heading to Montreal.
“When I got home, I checked the mail. I had a letter from the Shiners’ Hospitals saying that her appointment was on Jan. 26 and I was kind of overwhelmed, kind of shocked.”
The hospital has Faith’s medical records and file, she and her mother will fly out on Jan. 25 returning the next day after all of her appointments. The flights, hotel stay and meals will all be covered by the organization.
“The way it sounds is they can straighten her hands out to the point where she will be able to do things that you and I just take for granted,” Faith’s father Eugene Sawatzky said.
This upcoming appointment with the ortho clinic will determine just how far doctors will be able to go in helping faith with her hands.
“I know it’s going to be a long tough road to hoe for a while but it will pay off in the long run.”
A girl who may get a whole new handle on life and goes to show a little bit of faith and hope – can go a long way.