By Hannah Curran, Editor
TRUSSVILLE — A Trussville six-year-old has been chosen to be one of 10 2023 Champions for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Logan McCool will be the first child from Alabama to be selected as a Champion and serve as the face for the children treated at Children’s Hospital.
“These ambassadors spend their year advocating for the charitable need of children’s hospitals across North America,” Children’s Miracle Network Hospital stated.
Candice and James McCool always wanted a child, and after two miscarriages, they got pregnant with Logan.
“At our 17-week ultrasound, we were not expecting anything to be out of the normal; I was considered high risk because I was 36 years old at the time,” Candice said. “So we were getting multiple scans and ultrasounds, and at our 17-week anatomy scan, they noticed that her head was abnormally shaped, so they sent us to a high-risk OB who was the one who actually diagnosed her with spina bifida.”
Logan was diagnosed with the most severe form of spina bifida, myelomeningocele, where there is a complete opening down to the spinal cord that leaves the nerves exposed. Due to the severity of Logan’s prognosis, the doctors told James and Candice the worst possible news.
“The doctor said she’d probably have a very low quality of life,” Candice said. “He told us that she might not be able to eat or drink on her own, breathe on her own, and she may even die shortly after birth. He gave us two options: you can either go out of state and terminate the pregnancy, or we can refer you to Vanderbilt, who does a fetal surgery that could be very risky for the mother and baby.”
Candice and James chose neither of those options; instead, they met with a Children’s of Alabama neurosurgeon who explained that he saw kids with spina bifida live wonderful lives.
“He told us, ‘We can’t guarantee what kind of life she’ll have, but I have seen these kids live happy, productive lives. You have every right to enjoy this pregnancy,'” Candice said.
Logan has had four brain surgeries, three back surgeries, and two leg surgeries, all before she was two years old, but she continues to grow and be a happy kid. She is doing well with reading and writing, and she loves math and science. Don’t let Logan’s wheelchair fool you because she is completely capable of living a full life.
When Logan was two years old, she was nominated to be a Children’s of Alabama Superhero, where Books a Million sponsors an event and chooses patients from the NICU to be a hero in the hospital. Then, when Logan was three years old, Children’s asked her to be the ambassador for the hospital.
“That was when COVID hit, and she didn’t get to do a lot of face-to-face in-person things that kids prior got to do in that role,” Candice said. “So then they asked her when she was four years old to go ahead and do it again.”
When Logan was five years old, Children’s Miracle Network chose her to be the state representative in 2022.
“They take all the state representatives, and they choose 10 kids to represent them nationally the following year, and that’s how she was chosen for the opportunity,” Candice said.
If you shopped in Winn Dixie, Sam’s, Costco, Panda Express, Express Lube, Walmart, and several other places, you could have potentially seen Logan in a photo for Children’s Miracle Network.
“When you give to these different fundraisers in Alabama, it all goes to Children’s of Alabama; it doesn’t go to other hospitals in other places where you might not know the kids,” Candice said.
Logan said she has fun traveling around and helping raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network.
“We went to Salt Lake City, and it was great,” Logan said.
James explained that Salt Lake City is where the Children’s Miracle Network headquarters is located, and they were given the opportunity to travel to Utah to meet the people who do the behind-the-scenes work at Children’s Miracle Network.
Candice said that Logan does really well when in front of the camera, and she makes it her own. While in Utah, Logan did a video interview and a photo shoot and played with other kids.
Ever since Logan was a baby, she has been active in anything and everything. Candice and James never want to hold Logan back, so if Logan wants to do something, they make it happen. Logan is currently doing horseback riding; she has waterskied before, and she takes karate lessons. Logan also modeled for Carter’s and was in a Cartoon Network commercial.
“Logan doesn’t wait for someone to explain what to do; she just adapts and does it because she knows what she’s capable of,” James said.
Candice and James also have a Facebook page and a Youtube account that keeps their friends and family updated on everything Logan.
James said they get people walking up to them saying, “Hey Logan,” and they have no idea who they are, but they know Logan. So, follow along with Logan on her journey on Facebook and Youtube @livelikelogan.