Chloe

Life has been quite the journey for Chloe Denlinger.

It all started at a small orphanage in Brazil, where she was placed immediately after birth. She was the product of an ectopic pregnancy, a condition in which an embryo grows outside of the uterus, usually in the Fallopian tube. In Chloe’s case, she grew in her biological mother’s abdominal cavity–an extremely rare situation that can be life threatening to both mother and child. In most cases, the fetus does not survive.

But Chloe was just as special then as she is now.

She made it nearly full term, though she was born with a variety of birth defects including a misshapen head, overlapping fingers, malformed feet, a protruding  ear, and a lump on her shoulder.

Enter Francina and Darin Denlinger, who adopted Chloe from the Brazilian orphanage when she was eight months old. No strangers to adopting abroad, the
Denlingers had already welcomed three other children–two from India and one from Hong Kong–into their family. They also have three biological children. Francina and Darin were informed about Chloe’s special needs, but it didn’t faze them.

“Once we knew about her, we knew whatever it was, we were taking her,” says Francina.

Chloe didn’t have much time to get settled into her new Modesto home with her six brothers and sisters. Just as quickly as she had arrived, she was off to Children’s Hospital Central California. There, a group of physicians, including plastic surgeon Dr. Peter Witt and orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Gerardi, did a complete work-up to determine her course of treatment.

A series of surgeries were needed to correct Chloe’s birth defects–one for her feet to help her walk, one to remove the growth on her shoulder, one to fix her overlapping toes and fingers. They even created a new ear for Chloe.

“It’s a gorgeous little ear,” says Mom.

To those who saw Chloe before she came to Children’s, the transformation is simply mind-blowing.

“She is a completely different child,” says Francina. “Even Dr. Witt said he’s never seen anything like it. It’s a miracle, it really is.”

And it’s all thanks to Dr. Witt, Dr. Gerardi, and the staff at Children’s Hospital.

“They are patient, they are understanding, I have no complaints,” adds Mom. “We’ve been to facilities in the Bay Area, but Children’s is so much easier to get to. Plus, it’s a gorgeous facility. Gorgeous.”

Chloe will continue to be seen at both Children’s Hospital and at the hospital’s Modesto Pediatric Subspecialty Center. More surgeries may be in her future. But for now, she’s just a singing, dancing, 5-year-old ball of energy, fitting right in with the Denlinger clan of nine.

Chloe has truly come a long way, but it was definitely a journey worth taking.

Journey Sponsored by Richard & Barbara Peters and Family
Adventure Sponsored by Peggy, David, Ryan, Molly & Adam Dunlap