Sisters Repay Debt To Hospital That Changed Their Fate
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - In St. Paul on Wednesday, we saw an amazing display of gratitude and generosity.
Teenage sisters Sonja and Alexis Pearson returned to the hospital where doctors saved Sonja's life when she was a toddler.
We found out that this wasn't their first time back. The sisters have been making donations to the hospital for more than a decade.
At 16 and 19 years old, Sonja and Alexis are the picture of health.
But when they were 2 and 5, it was a different story. In 2002, Sonja suffered kidney failure after an e-coli infection. She nearly died.
"It was, from what I hear, very, very bad," Sonja said. "It's probably a good thing that I don't remember it."
But her sister does.
"I remember Christmas here opening presents for her because she was too sick to do it herself," Alexis said, "and the nurses would play with me."
Sonja spent 37 days at Children's Hospital in St. Paul and so did her big sister, Alexis, who was often in the sibling play area.
The experience shaped who they are today.
"The plan wasn't to have her die in the hospital," Alexis said. "It was to show us you are supposed to give back to people who help you in difficult times. That's what Children's Hospital did, and that's what we are doing now."
The sisters have kept coming back to the hospital.
Every year, they save their allowance so they can buy games and books to donate to the sibling play area. A bubble hockey machine is their latest gift. They're huge Minnesota Wild fans.
"It's a toy so kids can play with it," Sonja said. "It's just a fun area that kids can come and forget that they are in a hospital, and just be a kid."
The hospital invited Wild player Ryan Carter and former North Stars player Tom Reid to be the first to play with it.
And as a surprise, the nurse who took care of Sonja in 2002 returned to say hello.
Eda Anderson worked in the intensive care unit.
"She just wants to do this for other people and give back," Anderson said. "That is just such an amazing thing for parents to teach their children."
If you'd like to donate to the sibling play area at Children's Hospital, just head to the Accomplish MN page of our website.
