Sisters' Stem Cells Donated In Hopes Of Helping Other Children
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Hayley Mogul, 13, and her 9-year-old sister, Bari, have rare genetic mutations that can't be cured.
But their conditions have improved during a two-month stay at the Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill.
Their mother, Robyn Mogul, says she and her husband brought them here from their home of Chicago.
"Haley could communicate," Robyn says. "She could do some things herself, where Bari does not eat on her own. She's eating baby food; she drinks out of a bottle."
Feeding specialist Natalie Chalmers says Bari is making progress.
"She was on baby food only," she recalls. "So we've been moving on to pureed table foods, and now we're working on her variety."
Originally, the girls' parents didn't know a place like this existed.
After Bari turned 5, the two sisters were taken to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., for the first of several visits.
Doctors finally recommended the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh.
"To be able to come here and have this help has just been amazing," their mother says.
Now, the family is giving back, donating stem cells from Hayley and Bari to, hopefully, help others.
"My husband and I believe that if somebody can be helped, even if it's not the girls, then hopefully they'll do it," Robyn says. "And somebody will not end up in the same situation that we're in."
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