AlbaRose, born at just 27 weeks and weighing only one pound, 14 ounces, is the youngest Hoops Ambassador. During the first few months of her life, AlbaRose faced a series of serious challenges – her tiny lungs struggled to work on their own, a small vessel near her heart hadn’t closed after birth and she suffered a bleed on both sides of her brain. To her family, all of these concerns meant facing the terrifying questions no parent ever wants to ask — would their daughter be able to grow, move, and learn like other children? Days blurred into nights filled with monitors, scans, and whispered prayers. Her parents, Michael and Courtney, clung to every update and ounce of hope, while the HFCH NICU team watched over and cared for AlbaRose. “Their calm voices and steady hands became our lifeline,” said Courtney. Slowly, AlbaRose began to turn a corner. She was discharged from the NICU after 131 days and headed home to begin weekly therapy sessions which helped her start the long road of development: learning to sit up, reach, crawl, and eventually walk. Each milestone was a miraculous answer to countless prayers.
Today, AlbaRose is a joyful two-year-old who loves music, laughter, and sunshine. She is a living testimony to the healing power of God and is proof that miracles happen in the NICU — one breath, one heartbeat, and one fiercely determined little girl at a time.
