A 9-year-old little girl whose battle with a rare medical condition captivated the world and drew a national call for prayer from President Donald Trump is thriving after surviving a potentially dangerous procedure last Friday.
Sophia Marie Campa-Peters, 9, of Brownfield, Texas, had asked the world to invoke God on her behalf before her surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital — a procedure to help improve blood flow in her brain.
Sophia suffers from a genetic disorder that causes narrowed blood vessels in the brain and, in turn, strokes. She fared quite well during the risky surgery, though, and has been doing better than expected ever since, the Daily Mail noted.
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The little girl’s faith is what’s most notable about the story, as Sophia went on a quest before her surgery to get as many people as possible to pray for her, with her family taking to social media to appeal to the masses.
Eventually her story made its way to Trump, who issued a statement through Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a Jan. 23 press briefing. Sanders shared Sophia’s story, noting that Trump wanted to encourage the brave little girl.
Here’s some of what Sanders said:
Nine-year-old Sophia Marie Campa Peters suffers from a rare disease that causes the blood vessels in her brain to narrow and close. Three years ago, this condition resulted in Sophia enduring four massive strokes.
The strokes left her partially paralyzed. Since then, she has undergone numerous surgeries, but she has faced each one of them with a fearless exuberance for life that warms the heart of everyone she meets.
When the doctors told her she would never walk again, she dismissed them. “If you’re only going to talk about what I can’t do, then I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Just let me try.”
Not only did she try, she succeeded, leaving her doctors dumfounded. When they asked how she was doing these things, she had a simple answer: “Because I’m awesome,” and she’d smile.
During the holidays in 2016, Sophia had several more minor strokes, but she kept fighting. One of the neurosurgeons told her mom, “This little girl has God on her side.”
Sanders said that Sophia’s mom wanted others to hear her story, so that they, too, could be inspired and “hear a true testament to God’s grace and His glory revealed.” While Sophia wanted to reach 10,000 people to pray for her, Sanders said that the Trump administration wanted to help her far exceed that goal.
“We want to make sure she gets that and far exceeds it,” she said. “So today, Sophia, I’m here to tell you that millions of people from every corner of the world will be praying for you on January 26th.
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Sanders also said that Trump, too, was praying for the little girl’s surgery. She added, “He told me to tell you to keep fighting, to never give up, keep inspiring us all, and never, ever lose faith in God. With Him, all things are possible.”
Those prayers helped sustain Sophia and her family, with her parents revealing after Friday’s procedure that Sophia is doing quite well. As of Sunday, she had already been moved out of ICU and was placed in a regular room.
“Her recovery has been amazing! Her nurse stated she has never seen a patient like her with no swelling after surgery!” Sophia’s dad, Scott Peters, said. “Her physical therapist stated that the day after surgery she looked like a patient she normally sees on the day of discharge! The day after surgery she was able to stand up and walk!”
The family is thanking God for her recovery. Let’s all pray for her continued progress.