When she was just three years old, Angelica Hale's parents, James and Eva, began to notice their daughter singing beautifully from the backseat, in perfect tune with the pop songs on the radio. Her talent soon became evident to others when she began memorizing and singing standards like "God Bless America."
"We were parents just starting to see a glimmer of talent-that maybe there's something there," James said. But a year and a half of intense, life-changing medical challenges kept the parents from exploring their daughter's gift.
When Angelica fell ill in 2012 at age 5, she was rushed to the Emergency Department at Scottish Rite hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. Her lungs had begun to bleed into her abdomen, and she developed sepsis, a serious blood infection that devastated her kidneys.
Facing triple organ failure, Angelica was transported by helicopter to Egleston hospital, home to one of the Southeast's few extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) centers. She was put on ECMO for 12 days that "felt like a lifetime," James said.
The heart and lung bypass machine took over her lung function, giving her damaged organs time to heal before surgery. "We thought we were going to lose our daughter," James said. "We had no idea how long this journey would be."
After a successful lung surgery, Angelica was placed on dialysis but was eventually discharged. The transition was tough, and she was still very fragile, but her family was happy to have her home.
As she began to heal, Angelica asked for singing lessons. Her parents responded enthusiastically. "A lot of times, you see your child doing something awesome, and you never act on it," James said. "Having come so close to losing her, we wanted to explore her talent and see just how far we could go with it."
Vocal coach Trisha Gray at Sing Like a Star Studios was impressed with the talent Angelica brought to the table, and she agreed to start teaching and working with the young prodigy.
While still on dialysis, Angelica performed in front of a crowd for the first time in March 2013, singing "A Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. A few months later, she was competing on a festival stage in Duluth, and she took home first place in her age group.
"She's up there and people don't even know her tremendous story or what she's faced," James said. "She wowed the entire crowd and all the judges." From that point on, the Hales knew Angelica's talent was the real thing.
Before she could continue her singing career, however, Angelica would have to face one more surgery. Though she had been recovering for a year, her kidneys were still scarred, and she would need a transplant to fully recover. The family returned to Children's, home to one of the largest pediatric kidney transplant programs in the country. They had faith in the hospital, and they knew there was no place better for them to be. "Angelica is definitely attached at the hip to Children's," James said. "Without Children's, Angelica wouldn't have made it this far."
James and Eva were tested, and they found that Eva was a near-perfect match to donate a kidney to her daughter. In September of 2012, Angelica received her mother's kidney and recovered swiftly, "It was like night and day. Our daughter totally bounced back," James said. Just a month after her transplant, Angelica was headlining a black-tie Make-A-Wish gala at the Georgia Aquarium, spreading her inspirational message to hundreds of enthralled listeners. "This illness didn't break her," James said. "It did the opposite. If she hadn't gotten sick, we wouldn't have pursued this dream of hers, and she wouldn't be inspiring others now."
In the summer of 2014, Angelica had the chance to work with the Broadway Dreams Foundation, a week-long intensive course where students learn from actual Broadway choreographers and put on a show. Angelica was such a hit that she was invited to participate in the Broadway Dreams Philadelphia performance, winning a scholarship graciously provided by the cast of "If/Then" on Broadway. At the end of the week, Angelica received a standing ovation.
"She's so inspiring. She absolutely lights up a room," James said. "She made a roomful of strangers in Philadelphia fall in love with her, and they don't even know her whole story. And when they do find out, they're speechless."
The Hale family credits the lifesaving care Angelica received at Children's to her ability to pursue her dream of singing. "Without Children's," James said, "her story would have ended a lot sooner."
If you love Angelica Hale's music, click the following link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571794288349
You can also visit and support her on her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/AngelicaHaleMusic
Source: https://issuu.com/choamarketing/docs/small-wonders-fall-2014