Phil and Vicki Church had a happy, bouncing baby. Joy filled their hearts with the new addition, until blood tests revealed baby Jennifer had PKU, a rare inherited disorder that causes an amino acid called phenylalanine to build up in the body. They were devastated, but accepted the diagnosis for their toddler. Sometimes Jennifer would be extremely hyper, and other times, she would seize so intensely that the couple couldn’t hold her down.
“As she began to start walking, she began walking at an earlier age than the other two [children], then she would run from one side of the room to the other. There would be four or five days and nights when she would show no sign of being sleepy or tired,” Vicki says. “We’d have to take turns staying up with her, caring for her.”
The Churches were exhausted, defeated and about to give up hope. Jennifer was taken to a hospital where doctors discovered she had a brain tumor.
“It was very doubtful that she would live,” Vicki says.
So they brought her home before a surgery that was guaranteed to leave Jennifer as a vegetable. That’s when they heard a knock on their door.
