Matt Willingham 
This little guy is having a rough day. And we’ve all been here, haven’t we? Sitting on some cold table with a bunch of strange people poking and prodding. It’s not the kind of photo we show you a lot, but faces like this aren’t uncommon to our work. With a few exceptions, kids generally hate hospitals—this little guy even more than most.
His name is Hamma, and his problems started about a year ago when doctors told his parents of Hamma’s need for heart surgery. As if that weren’t enough, Hamma fell down the stairs a couple weeks ago while chasing his sister and broke his nose. I’m not sure which was more painful: the shame of being bested by your little sister or actually smashing your face in, but add his oxygen-deprived blood and the fact that he hadn’t eaten all day and this is the kind of face you get.
But there is a light at the end of Hamma’s tunnel! In fact, I think his best days are ahead of him, but he needs surgery first. I sat with his parents in their hospital room and told them why we’re here, I told them about you, and I explained that the doctors have high hopes for Hamma’s surgery.
He is in line for surgery—come back tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it goes!
