Despite the fact that eight-year-old Annika Hansen has lived abroad for more than half of her life, speaks English, French, and Spanish, and even remembers to say “please” and “thank you” on a shockingly routine basis, her life has been fairly typical for girls her age. She loves Barbie dolls, Beenie Babies, being involved in Girl Scouts, and playing with her family pet, a basset hound named Gunner.

These past six months, however, have been far from typical. For nearly six harrowing weeks starting in late August, Annika had either been in a coma and on a ventilator, or simply too weak to even sit up. She was near death twice and amazed doctors with her unexpected recovery from a very severe case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (H.U.S.), a fairly common condition typically caused by E.coli exposure. Annika’s extremely severe case resulted in acute kidney failure and led to a very painful inflammation of the pancreas. Additionally, she developed a severe case of rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle fibers that releases toxins, further damaging her kidneys and worsening her condition.

This entire experience has been nothing short of a nightmare for Annika and her parents, Paul and Shari Hansen from Sunfish Lake, as well as her younger brother Max and older sister Kaitlin. “It’s like running a blind marathon – you have no idea how many miles you have left to run,” says Paul.

Though they are native Minnesotans, they have lived in France and for the past two years the Hansens have lived in Mexico City because of Paul’s job as managing director for 3M Mexico. Just before returning back to school in Mexico City, Annika had not been feeling well, had been extremely fatigued, and was complaining of sore muscles.

What started as mere fatigue and muscle pain, turned into a very life-threatening journey for Annika. Her situation quickly worsened, and after having two very serious seizures, a cardiac arrest, and slipping into a coma, Annika was airlifted out of Mexico and transported to University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital where she spent several weeks in a coma, on continual dialysis, and under the watchful eyes of hospital staff and a team of specialists from the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics.

Dr. Lydia Najera is Annika’s primary pediatric nephrologist. “Annika’s recovery has truly inspired and delighted us all,” says Dr. Najera. “She is a remarkable little girl, with an amazing will to live, who beat the odds, and will grow to be an extraordinary woman.”

Annika longs for the day when she can dance and swim and play like she did before this ordeal started. And although Annika is back home, back to school part-time, and gaining more strength each day, doctors have advised that she will most likely need a kidney transplant.

Though H.U.S. is fairly common, pediatric nephrology experts at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital see the most extreme cases because of their expertise in treating kidney failure. They are nationally renowned for being the first in the nation to safely dialyze very young children, and for performing successful kidney transplants even for the tiniest of infants. The University of Minnesota and Fairview collaborate on one of the three largest pediatric kidney transplant programs in the world. More than 600 infants and children, many less than a year old, have received the gift of life through transplantation at University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview.

Shari has already been tested to see if she could give one of her kidneys to her daughter, and recently learned that she appears to be an excellent match.  “We are relieved to know that, if needed, we have a healthy kidney ‘ready and waiting’ and can move on to the next phase of her recovery,” says Shari. “And I will do my best to keep it in tip-top shape!”

Shari and Paul also rest assured knowing that, if a transplant is needed, they are in good hands at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital. “We have a plethora of pediatric specialists available to us here,” says Shari. “And we know we have many sets of very good eyes looking at Annika’s case very closely.”

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