Local Walmart Associate Understands the Importance of their CMN Hospitals Fundraising Campaign: Her Twin Grandsons!

Trena Wolfe, Store Associate at Walmart #79 in Joplin, Missouri, understands the importance of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraising campaign through Walmart and Sam’s Club. Her twin grandsons, Isaac and Easton Howard, are Champions for their local CMN Hospital, Freeman Health System. Easton and Isaac were born in May of 2014 at 26 weeks and 3 days gestation. Easton weighed 2 lbs. and Isaac weighed 1 lb. 4 oz. Easton spent 128 days in the NICU. He had an open PDA, grade 3-4 intracranial hemorrhage, stage 2 retinopathy of prematurity, ilieostomy reversal, pyloric stenosis with pyloromyotomy and 5 blood transfusions. Isaac spent 162 days in the NICU. He had an open PDA, cerebellar hemorrhage, stage 3+ retinopathy of prematurity with eye laser surgery, hydrocephalus with brain surgery to relieve buildup, 9 blood transfusions, 2 platelet transfusions and he coded and had to be resuscitated 3 times. Isaac and Easton, now 5 years old, are doing amazing, growing and thriving.

In 2018, Isaac was awarded a service dog named Murphy through the donor-funded Miracle Service Dog Program through CMN Hospitals at Freeman. Murphy is trained to tether to prevent wandering and provide pressure therapy to de-escalate behavior. Murphy is currently working on seizure detection training for Isaac, as well.

Last August, Murphy, with his new family by his side, took his Public Access Test at Trena’s Walmart store, #79, and he passed! The Service Dog Public Access Test is held to ensure that dogs certified as Service Dogs are well-behaved and able to perform their trained behaviors in a public setting. The test is also used to demonstrate that the handler has control over the dog and that the dog responds appropriately to insure there is no threat to the public from the dog.

Without the Walmart and Sam’s Club fundraising campaign, programs like the Miracle Service Dog Program would not be possible. Stop by your local store through July 7th to make a donation to your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Freeman Health System, and make a donation to help local kids like Isaac and Easton!