Here’s something to think about. When you support Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, you’re joining a community of people passionate about helping children.

Because taking care of kids is what Le Bonheur does, the hospital has helped kids like 5-year-old Georgia Waller of West Memphis, Arkansas.

From the very first moment you see a photo or a social media post of Georgia, her mom Devin will tell you her little girl’s smile will win you over just about every time.

“Her smile and her laugh, She is a very happy baby. She loves people. She is quite a little character, very opinionated,” Devin said.

She’s an opinionated little girl who definitely knows what she likes, especially when it comes to her favorite toys.

“Her favorite toys are her blocks. She likes to stack them up and knock them over and she has a like a little Power Wheels Jeep that we found, one with a remote control so we can drive it for her. And she loves that.”

Georgia’s parents Devin and Kevin found out before she was born, she would face some challenges.

“We found out at about 20 weeks, we went for her anatomy scan and she we were told that they really didn’t like the way her brain was forming, and her head was measuring very small.”

Because of what the anatomy scan showed, the Wallers were referred to the Fetal Center at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

“Everything up until that point looked good. She had a good, strong heartbeat growing, measuring normal everything except for her head. So, it was it was definitely a surprise for us.”

At the Fetal center, which is one-of-its-kind in the area offering a complete range of services from prenatal diagnosis to fetal intervention, a team of specialists performed a much more in-depth ultrasound.

It also confirmed the Waller’s biggest fears.

“It showed her brain was definitely malformed. They still couldn’t see exactly what was going on. But from that appointment on, we really started planning like after she’s born, what the kind of what ifs.”

The ‘what ifs’ about Georgia’s life and future included a hard dose of reality.

“We were told before she was born just based on what her brain looked like, that there was a possibility that she would never walk, she would never talk.”

Georgia was born at a nearby hospital in close proximity to Le Bonheur. Devin remembers hearing the sound of her baby’s voice for the first time.

“It was amazing. All of the fear and all of the worry coming up to this point of will she even be able to survive when she’s born? And I heard that cry and I was like, she’s going to be okay. She’s going to be okay,” he said.

But at two days old, Georgia was transferred to Le Bonheur’s NICU where more testing and more M-R-Is were performed.

“And I remember them coming in and showing me the images of the MRI and just staring at it like I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She is missing the entire back portion of her brain. It’s just a space filled with fluid where brain matter should be.”

Georgia’s initial condition was diagnosed as Hydranencephaly. It’s when the cerebral hemispheres of the brain are missing and are replaced by pockets of fluid.

“I remember asking the doctor, what is that I’m looking at? And just couldn’t believe that my baby, that I just I couldn’t believe it.”

The Wallers were in total shock at first. They also learned Georgia had another condition called Polymicrogyria. It’s when the brain develops too many folds and the folds are unusually small.

She was in the NICU and would need a tube to help with her feeding and was eventually discharged. But she also developed seizures.

Despite everything she’s gone through, her family finds strength in Georgia.

“She’s so tough and so strong it rubs off on everybody, definitely my husband and family,” Devin said.

She continues to surprise her family every day. Devin remembers the first time hearing Georgia laugh and remembers her first word.

“And since we were told that she may never, ever be able to talk, just hearing her laugh and being able to understand that something was funny, it was it was incredible. I think when she was about two years old, she said Dada for the first time, and I know that made my husband’s day of course, the first word,” Devin said.

Georgia’s parents say she is doing well, and they say she’s inspiration to their families and to others.

Today, she still has her checkups at Le Bonheur, but this smart little girl enjoys spending time with her brother, going to the park, and she has even starred in a Le Bonheur TV commercial.

The Wallers credit their faith and the exceptional care at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital for how Georgia has progressed.

“It’s incredible. We are so lucky to have Le Bonheur in our area. It’s just unmatched.”