On the day of her delivery, the extent of Angel’s troubles became clear — multiple muscular-skeletal deformities, problems with the size and operations of her brain, conjoined fingers and dislocated hips.
Also obvious was the love of her parents, who kept a constant vigil by her side at the Intensive Care Unit. As Jennifer said, they named the girl “Angel” and left the rest up to God.
“We didn’t leave the hospital for a week,” Doug said.
Perhaps inheriting some of her parent’s stubborn resilience, Angel would ultimately defy the pessimistic assessments of her doctors, leaving the hospital with her beaming family in just more than a week.
“They needed her bed because the ICU was packed,” Doug said, laughing. “They just said ‘You can take her home today, let us know if she needs a checkup!’ We were overjoyed.”
Six years later, Angel nonchalantly giggles as she bounces on her father’s lap at the TeWinkle Park playground and watches her 3-year-old brother DJ dig with a plastic shovel.
Soon Angel will be able to play at the park as well, because of “Angel’s Charity,” the nonprofit the Hansens started in their daughter’s honor.
Indeed, today’s groundbreaking of their latest project, “Angels Playground,” will demolish the current park at TeWinkle and replace it with a new one that will be accessible to the disabled. The project should last about six months.
“There will be a big structure on the playground, but what makes it so universally accessible is its rubberized surface,” Doug Hansen said. “A wheelchair or walker could go up to the equipment itself, and there are a series of ramps that go throughout the playground to large swings, sandboxes and other equipment.”
The park meets ADA requirements, but that’s far from adequate, Doug said.
