Taylor Sanders of Albany to serve as Childrens Miracle Network Champion Ambassador

ALBANY — Following a miraculous recovery from a car accident, an Albany child and his family are being given the opportunity to act as advocates for pediatric services.

Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health (CHNH) in Macon announced that Taylor Sanders of Albany has been named the 2015 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) Champion Ambassador for Georgia.

In the coming year, Taylor and his family will serve as Albany area, state and national spokespeople advocating for the charitable needs of children’s hospitals throughout North America.

Taylor, 6, was admitted to CHNH in September 2014, after a vehicle crash. While doing all that they could to save Taylor’s life, physicians and clinicians at Navicent Health realized Taylor’s chances of survival were slim and did not believe he would survive. Officials with CHNH said Taylor continuously defied science and overcame multisystem organ failure to become known as the “Miracle Child” to Navicent Health’s employees.

“It means so much to us for Taylor to be chosen. We really didn’t know anything about Children’s Miracle Network until this situation happened. To know that Taylor has this opportunity to represent Georgia and tell others about Children’s Miracle Network is a blessing. He is really excited,” said Don Sanders, Taylor’s father.

This June, all state champion ambassadors are expected to travel to Washington, D.C. to share their stories with a national audience. The family will also be going on an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World.

“Taylor is definitely our Miracle Child at Navicent Health, and it is so fitting that he be chosen as Georgia’s representative for Children’s Miracle Network. He has overcome such tremendous odds, defying science, and now he can share his story with the state and the nation,” said Dr. Eric Long, trauma and critical care surgeon for CHNH.

Officials say that the CMN Champions program — presented by Delta Air Lines, Marriott International and Chico’s FAS — identifies a child from each state, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico with a remarkable medical story and passion for advocating on behalf of children’s hospitals. These champions serve as ambassadors for the children treated at the 170 CMN hospitals.

“Taylor’s recovery, his life, is indeed a reason to celebrate and he is so very deserving of this honor. This honor not only celebrates Taylor and his remarkable spirit and will to survive, but also celebrates the dedication of his parents, Wendy and Don, who never left his side, and the remarkable teamwork and innovation exhibited by our staff in order to allow Taylor to heal. We are so very proud of Taylor and all that he has overcome,” said Ninfa M. Saunders, president and CEO of Navicent Health.

CMN raises funds and awareness for the member hospitals providing 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay in the local area in which they are raised to fund critical treatments and health care services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, CMN has raised more than $5 billion, most of it a dollar at a time through the charity’s Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of the children they serve.

Taylor’s journey through the coming year can be followed using “#GACMNChampion15” on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more information, visit www.cmnhospitals.org and www.facebook.com/CMNHospitals.