DAPHNE, Ala. – Katie Hamlin had just finished her sophomore year at Bayside Academy in Daphne when she fell ill last spring.

After being treated at Thomas Hospital in Fairhope and the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, she was transported by jet in mid June to the Children’s Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham.

“One day Katie Hamlin was an active outgoing (south Alabama) teenager,” states a video that chronicles her illness and recovery. “The next she was battling for her life, and her family was beginning a seven-month journey that would end in nothing short of a miracle.”

After Katie’s recovery and discharge from the hospital in January, the Hamlin family offered to tell their story, and have volunteered their time and efforts in numerous other ways, to help support the only hospital in Alabama dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children.

“They saved her life,” Katie’s father Bob Hamlin said this week. “We asked ourselves how can we give back to Children’s Hospital for giving us back our daughter.”

Their latest efforts are in support of the Inaugural Children’s Cup Regatta, where a variety of races, activities, food and music, will be held tomorrow at the Fairhope Yacht Club. There will be a skipper’s meeting at 9:30 a.m. and the races will start just after noon.

Katie and her parents, including her mom Susie, will be at the event, which was organized in memory of Dr. Jim Dearth, the longtime CEO of Children’s Hospital, and an avid sailor and racing enthusiast, who died last year. The event also honors Katie, now 17, who spent all last summer, fall and early winter battling her life-threatening illness at Children’s Hospital.

“Katie has sort of inspired the whole thing,” said Kerrie Benson of the Children’s Hospital. “Her recovery is just sort of a miracle to everybody.”

Event organizers contacted the FYC, which became an active partner in the event, along with Katy’s Catering of Foley, Benson said.

Adults and children alike will find a variety of races to enter, including PHRF, Portsmouth, Rhodes 19, Catalina 22, Laser Radial, 420, Opti (advanced) and Opti Green. Youth may also compete in the Raingutter Regatta to see which 6-inch-long sailboat will be the first to reach the bottom of a 10-foot-long length of rain gutter filled with water, Benson said.

“Starting at noon there will be activities at the FYC pool and an inflatable water slide for the kids, so be sure to bring swimsuits,” she said.

The event will also include art projects, a frozen T-shirt contest, a silent auction and a live DJ. Starting at 6 p.m., barbecue plates from Katy’s Catering will be available for a $5 donation, as well homemade red beans and rice, and hot dogs for the kids, Benson added.

“A live band and awards ceremony will round out the night,” she said. “The event is open to the public and everyone is welcome to watch the race.”

Benson said all funds raised at the event will go directly to patient care.

“We treat all kids regardless of whether they can pay or not,” she said. “So all money raised will be very well used.”

The Children’s Hospital of Alabama, a nonprofit organization, is the 10th busiest pediatric medical center in the country, and last year treated more than 1,200 children from Mobile and Baldwin counties, Benson said.

“Her recovery continues,” Katie’s father said of his daughter, who began classes at Daphne High School this week. “The neurological impact is kind of what we’re dealing with today. She is still rehabilitating.”

Diagnosed initially as pneumonia and later as acute respitory distress, the cause of Katie’s illness remains a mystery. She endured a two-month, drug-induced coma and a stroke, and needed almost a month on a rare machine called an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which delivers oxygen to the blood.

“Her ventilator wasn’t able to keep her oxygenated,” said Dr. Keith Georgeson on the Children’s Hospital video. “The ECMO gives the lungs a chance to rest and heal.”

Information about Katie’s illness and recovery is found in several videos on You Tube by searching her name, as well as at www.caringbridge.org and entering “katiehamlin” in that website’s search bar.

“They’re so sweet,” Katie says on the video about the Children’s Hospital staff. “They took care of me. They saved my life. I just love them.”

For more information about the Aug. 21 Children’s Cup Regatta, contact Cathy Cromartie, vice commodore of the FYC, at cmcromartie@bellsouth.net or 251-895-0993, or Benson at 251-610-4969.

Entry fees are $15 for the adult class races and $5 per person for the Raingutter Regatta. Admission for spectators is free but donations will be accepted and boat sponsorships are encouraged. Those interested in racing should preregister by contacting Cromartie.

Via: Daphne girl’s ‘miracle’ recovery inspires weekend regatta – Baldwin County NOW