Michael and Ellie Santiago knew something was wrong when their daughter Estelle, then 3 years old, woke them in the middle of the night.
It was early January and the Santiagos were in Uruguay visiting Michael Santiago’s parents, who lead the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About a week earlier, Estelle had been sick with what seemed to be a normal childhood stomach bug. She recovered for several days, then became sick again; the Santiagos consulted local doctors and continued caring for Estelle at home.
But at 4 a.m. on Jan. 5, Estelle woke her parents, begging for water. Soon she was vomiting, and the Santiagos noticed her eyes were crossed. Shortly after they reached the hospital emergency room around 4:30 a.m., Estelle had a seizure. By 11 a.m., she was in a coma.
Estelle was ultimately diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition most often caused by an E. coli infection and which can cause kidney failure, heart issues and high blood pressure, among other symptoms.
Thousands of miles from their home in Midway, Utah, and with their daughter’s life hanging by a thread, the Santiagos clung to their faith like never before.
“I think that the only thing you can do is turn to the Lord because that’s all you have left,” Ellie Santiago told Church News.
Estelle eventually made it home via a long-range medical jet from Intermountain Health. She spent several weeks at Primary Children’s Hospital, first in the pediatric intensive care unit and then in rehabilitation. Against all odds, she not only survived her life-threatening illness, she almost entirely overcame it.
The Santiagos celebrated Estelle’s recovery — and her 4th birthday — on Wednesday, July 29, at a news conference held in the Intermountain Health flight and ambulance hangar in Salt Lake City. Special guests included the Intermountain Health doctors, nurses, flight crew and administration members who all played a role in Estelle’s journey. Friends and family members, including Estelle’s little sister Bianca, also attended.
The Santiagos can’t say enough about the skill, dedication and compassion of the medical team that saved Estelle’s life.
They’re also acutely aware of and extraordinarily grateful for how Heavenly Father carried them through this trial — for the abundance of tender mercies and personalized blessings that made Estelle’s recovery possible.
“After the best medical treatment, the best doctors, it was Heavenly Father that spared her life,” Michael Santiago told Church News.
Uruguay Montevideo West Mission President Todd Santiago, Michael Santiago’s father, said that despite the fear and uncertainty of Estelle’s sickness, he also felt great peace.
His family tried to exercise “faith in either outcome” — whether Estelle lived or died, President Santiago said in an interview with Church News. “It wasn’t going to change our faith.”
Throughout this experience, he continued, he’s learned that the Lord is involved in the details of individual lives and that His Atonement covers not just sin, but also sorrow, fear, insecurities and more.
“He is there with us through thick and thin, and understands uniquely what it feels like to go through these types of things,” President Santiago said.
His wife, Sister Stephanie Santiago, said it was remarkable to see so many people from all over the world come together in faith for Estelle, including those of other religious traditions. Their own missionaries, especially, have ministered to them, she said.
“When it came down to it, everybody was doing [everything] they possibly could, but our faith was really what got us through,” Sister Santiago said. “And we just had to trust in that process.”
‘Instruments in God’s hands’
During Wednesday’s news conference, Michael Santiago recounted his family’s story, detailing how Estelle’s condition rapidly deteriorated after she became comatose. On the second day of her hospitalization, she experienced uncontrollable muscle contortions; on day three, her kidneys began shutting down and an MRI revealed hemorrhaging and lesions on her brain; and on day four, her heart started to fail, operating at around 50% capacity.
As Estelle worsened, it became increasingly clear that she needed more care than she could receive in Uruguay. The Santiagos called their insurance provider and Intermountain Health, hoping for a medical flight to take their daughter home.
Intermountain Health heard about Estelle on Jan. 7 and immediately began the process to get a landing permit for Uruguay — a step that usually takes seven to 10 days, and which Estelle didn’t have time to wait for. So Intermountain Health personnel got to work.
Brooke Hicks, supervisor for the Intermountain Health air ambulance team, relayed during the news conference how various team members made phone calls, used their connections and otherwise did all they could to expedite the process. Within 36 hours, Intermountain Health had the Uruguay landing permit, which Hicks called “an unheard of miraculous win.”
The medical flight took off on Jan. 9, overnighted in Peru and then reached Uruguay — despite a “torrential storm” that jeopardized their ability to land, Michael Santiago said during the news conference. He remembered the distinctive sense of peace and gratitude that came over him when he met the flight crew. “We knew at that point we were in good hands.”
Ellie Santiago said when the medical flight landed, it felt like the cavalry had arrived to save them. She called the crew “our angels and instruments in God’s hands.”
Still, the flight home came with significant challenges. Doctors in Uruguay weren’t sure Estelle could survive the 18-hour trip, especially because her continuous dialysis would have to stop during the flight.
When Estelle arrived at the plane, the crew intubated her and used six to seven drips to manage her blood pressure, cardiac output and sedation. With Michael, Ellie and Bianca Santiago all on board, the flight took off on Jan. 11, made stops in Peru for fuel and a pilot swap and in Texas for customs before finally reaching Salt Lake City.
In an interview, Ellie Santiago said keeping Estelle’s blood pressure stable was especially difficult during the flight. Nurses tried one medication, then another, then started mixing vials. The new concoction brought Estelle’s blood pressure up, one of countless ways that Ellie Santiago said she saw the Lord’s hand throughout those difficult days.
Upon arrival in Salt Lake, Estelle was immediately transported to Primary Children’s Hospital, where she recovered for several weeks before returning home. Estelle has several lingering problems, Ellie Santiago said during the news conference, but nothing that will hold her back.
“She has led her own recovery with a positive attitude,” Ellie Santiago said. “Six months ago, if we could have seen her today, we would not have believed it.”
Michael Santiago added: “We know that God answers prayers. We acknowledge Him in all things.”
Darren Smith, Ellie Santiago’s father, wept as he spoke with Church News about the ways his family saw God’s power during Estelle’s illness. Doctors said she might never walk or talk again, Smith recalled, but now she’s home and healthy.
Between friends, family members and missionaries in Uruguay, hundreds of people fasted and prayed for Estelle, Smith said. “And it opened the heavens. A loving Father in Heaven just reached out and healed this little girl.”
His family relies more fully on the Savior because of this experience, Smith continued, and has a deeper desire to draw closer to Him. “We are completely reliant upon Him, and we’ve been reminded of that through this whole process.”
