Hope Cunnings
(2005 - 2007)

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General Details

Name:	Hope Cunnings
Nick Name:	Princess Trooper
Gender:	Female
Age:	2 years old
Lived:	Saturday, 21 May 2005 - Friday, 29 June 2007

My Story

When Hope was born she had only been in the womb for 21 weeks. The doctors had to deliver her early because her internal organs had developed externally which had stopped her fetal growth. At birth she weighed just 2lbs 7oz and was 10 inches long. The one thing that gave us "hope" was that her heart was extremly strong.

At only 20 hours old Hope had to under go a 6 1/2 hour operation to fix the problem. During the operation the doctor also had to remove one of her kidneys because it had not developed during her short time in the womb. The following days after her operation the doctors told my friend (Kristian - the proud daddy) that Hope's remaining kidney was failing and she would have to have dialysis until they could find her a suitable donor. Several days later Hope's older brother Benny was found to be a perfect match for Hope but Benny had to start seeing a child psychologist and other counselors to make sure he understood what was going on if he were to be the donor. Being that Benny's intelligence is out of this world the doctors felt he was able to donate and he was happy to do it. The whole operation went perfect and Hope showed no signs of rejection.

Following the operation and during a routine check up the doctors noticed that Hope developed a tumor on her liver so it was back to the operating room. The tumor had to be removed and sent away for testing...it later came back benign and we were all so relieved. By this time Hope lost more weight and was put on a feeding tube because she couldn't eat as much as a baby her normal age. We all started thinking that Hope was a little miracle. Noone thought for one moment when she was first born that she would have even made it this far and there she was laying in her incubator, so innocent, fragile but yet strong and full of "hope". A few weeks pasted and Hope started to gain some weight, Kristian was able to hold her and she even smiled for the first time.

After a very long, stressful, and at moments touch and go six months Hope was fianlly ready to go home and experience the world for the first time. It wasn't long before Hope made another trip to the hospital. At first her father thought she had epilepsy but it turned out that she had developed a small brain tumor and once again she was rushed in for sergury. A specialist was flown in from the U.S and performed the very long intense procedure and yet again luck was on Hope's side. They managed to get the whole tumor and Hope was released fom the hospital a few weeks later.

As time passed we celebrated Hope's 1st birthday, then her second birthday. By this time Hope was walking and talking like any other toddler. During a visit to her doctor at Toronto's Hosiptal for Sick Kids the doctor examined Hope and told her daddy that she would have to have corrective surgery on her leg & foot because they were causing Hope a lot of pain when she tried to walk. This operation seemed so minor compaired to the others she had already surivived.

The months following Hope's corrective surgery the doctors noticed that the surgery was not a success as Hope was still experiencing problems with her foot which resulted in her being in a lot of pain on a daily basis.

On Friday June 15, 2007 Hope went back in for a second surgery to try once again to correct the problem but this time Hope took a turn for the worst. Following the surgery Hope's heartrate dropped & she was put on life support. We later found out that she suffered what the doctors call a "Pediatric Stroke."

On Monday June 18, 2007 in a turn of events Hope started to fight the life support so the doctors had to sadate her & about 20-25 minutes later little Hope suffered another stroke.

On Friday June 21, 2007 Hope had to go for another surgery, this time to reduce swelling on the right side of her brain that had developed due to the strokes. The surgery lasted about 3 hrs 48 min and we were told she was in stable condition but still on life support.

Unfortunatley, on Saturday June 29th 2007, Hope was set free into Heaven to fly with all the other little angels. After she suffered her thrid stroke within a weeks time the doctors had declared Hope to be brain dead...she had no more brain activity but was being kept alive on life support. Hope's daddy, Krisitan, had to make the very hard choice to let his only little girl go.

As sad as this is we are trying to remember Hope as the happy little girl that she was & how much she enjoyed life despite the many obstacles she faced. She was & always will be an inspiration to me. The life that Hope led in her short two years was a hard & sometimes painful one but she always had a smile on her face & always loved to cheer people up with a simple hug & kiss.

We miss you baby girl!

Latest Tributes

3 / 3 tributes

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From: AuntyMel

for an amazing strong angel

From: txcowgirl

I never got to meet Hope...unfortunately, however my daughter Madison kept me up to date on her growing up ...picture...

From: madigurl07
Song Name: Dancing With The ...
Artist: Monk and Neagle

From: madigurl07

A candle for a special little girl that over came so much but was still taken too soon. I love you Hope and miss you ...

Biography

Fathers Name:	Kristian Cunnings
Mothers Name:	Anatacia Jacobs
Siblings Names:	Justin, Benny, Liam
Country of Birth:	Canada
Country of Residence:	Canada
Religion:	Catholic

Interests

Favourite Sport:	Swimming
Favourite Book:	Dora
Favourite Movie:	Cinderalla
Favourite Music Genre:	Other
Other Interests:
Hope loved playing at the beach or at the park. She loved colouring and drawing or going swimming

Passing

Place of Passing:	Toronto's Hospital For Sick Kids
Date of Passing:	29 June 2007
Cause of Passing:	Pediatric Stroke
Type of Funeral:	Open Casket
Place of Burial:	Ottawa, Ontario
Funeral Director:	Jeffery Fryer
Funeral Date:	8 July 2007