Children's Miracle Network

Ministry Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital

KRISTINE KOPELKE

Kristine Kopelke is the daughter of Greg and Donna Kopelke of Wisconsin Rapids. She has one sister, Kaitlyn. Kristine is in second grade at Port Edwards Elementary School.

According to her mother, Kristine is an 8-year-old little girl who is very determined and stubborn. And that’s probably a good thing, because when Kristine was only two years old, she was diagnosed with the Myasthenia Gravis (MG) form of muscular dystrophy. Kristine’s case was very unique as she was born without a thymus gland. And the removal of that gland is one of the treatments for MG.

Kristine Kopelke

Kristine was doing fairly well from 2-years-old until 6-years-old, except for a few cases of pneumonia and speech problems. But on November 8, 2000, the day after her sixth birthday, Kristine became ill at school. That night she started having trouble breathing. Her parents took her to the emergency room and then she was admitted to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield. She had pneumonia.

Two days later, nurses could not get Kristine to respond and she was placed in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on a ventilator. Her condition worsened. Dr. Edward Fernandez, Pediatric Intensivist on staff at Saint Joseph’s Hospital, ordered x-rays daily to monitor her lungs.

Kristine was then diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is very critical. She had to be put into a drug-induced coma so that she could be placed on an oscillator that very gently vibrated her lungs. She was on this breathing machine for sixteen days, and then a ventilator again for thirteen days.

"Fortunately, most people don’t know what it’s like to watch a child go through everything like Kristine has gone through," shares Donna, Kristine’s mom. "Kristine doesn’t do anything by the books, so all I could do was pray. She is one of a kind. The staff are all great and they all seem to love Kristine."

Forty-five days after she was admitted, Kristine was finally well enough to go home. "Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) was there and helped with meal tickets and phone cards," shares Donna. "We can’t say enough for the CMN program. They are great!"

Kristine continues to receive follow-up care at Marshfield Clinic. Her condition needs to be monitored closely. But for now, she enjoys coloring and working on craft projects.

Patti Shafto-Carlson
Director of Development - Children's Services
cmn@ministryhealth.org