A mom was left terrified when her toddler accidentally dropped her baby sister on the floor, but no one could have predicted just how lifesaving that incident would turn out to be.
In 2024, a mom named Jewel, 27, welcomed her second child and called her Hazel. It certainly wasn’t an easy pregnancy as Jewel had an anterior placenta and had to have an emergency cesarean section at 37 weeks as Hazel was breech.
Nonetheless, Jewel, of Colorado, told Newsweek that they “didn’t have any concerns” about Hazel’s health during the pregnancy or after her birth. But events on September 20, 2024 when Hazel’s older sister, Harper, accidentally dropped the 4-month-old on the ground, led to a shocking discovery.
“Hazel was lying on her floor mat when I went to grab laundry out of the dryer,” Jewel said. “We lived in a small apartment, so I was less than 15 feet away from Hazel. Harper was kneeling on the floor next to Hazel and attempted to pick her up to put Hazel in her lap. Before I could stop her, Harper got her approximately 12 inches off the ground then lost her grip.”
Jewel and her husband were panicked by what happened. They did their own assessment of Hazel, but as she was only 4 months old at the time, they decided to take her to hospital to be safe.
Harper, who is 4 years old now, was completely distraught and “apologized profusely” to Hazel, her parents and even the hospital staff who treated her baby sister.
Hazel had an MRI scan of her head and a full-body X-ray, which appeared clear. Hazel was cleared of any injury or trauma, but just before she was about to be discharged, a nurse noticed an unexpected reading while taking her vitals. Hazel’s oxygen levels were “dangerously low,” which caused the nurse to check once more.
“I was confused because, at first, the nurse excused the low oxygen as a faulty monitor reading. But after triple checking with different monitors, it was confirmed, and I was extremely anxious and worried,” Jewel said.
The family was rushed to the pediatric intensive care unit where Hazel stayed for a week. Following that, she was in and out of hospital for around eight months. Jewel said that, any time she caught a cold, it developed into pneumonia.
Doctors continued to be perplexed by Hazel’s case, and it took months before they finally reached a diagnosis.
Jewel told Newsweek: “They originally thought it was childhood interstitial lung disease, but they didn’t find the true cause of her issues until March 2025 when they did a detailed brain MRI. She was diagnosed with several debilitating conditions stemming from a stroke she had while in utero.
“I was dumbfounded and angry. I had a lot of issues during the pregnancy, but none of my scans or wellness checks showed issues with Hazel,” Jewel said.
As a result of her stroke, Hazel will likely have many restrictions while growing up. But because she got a diagnosis early, Jewel hopes that she will only have minimal setbacks by the time she enters adulthood.
Had Harper not dropped Hazel that day in 2024, the stroke may have never been discovered. When she reflects on it now, Jewel says it was a “loving accident” that may have saved Hazel’s life.
Indeed, if the family hadn’t gone to hospital that night, doctors told them that they “would have lost Hazel” shortly after.
Jewel has been documenting Hazel’s journey on social media (@hazelsheroeshomebase) as the little girl continues to progress and defy expectations. It started as a way to find a supportive community online, but now it has become a powerful tool to raise awareness, educate and inspire others with Hazel’s strength.
Many of the TikTok videos about Hazel’s journey have gone viral, with a post about the events of September 2024 generating over 3.3 million views and more than 130,100 likes on TikTok at the time of writing. Jewel explained in the caption that, if it wasn’t for that fateful night at the ER, “we would have lost her.”
“Harper still calls Hazel ‘her baby,’ and they have a fun, loving relationship filled with lots of laughter, snuggles and silliness,” Jewel said.
“Hazel’s health care team, family, friends, and almost 100,000 people online know Harper as Hazel’s Hero. Our community has adopted the phrase Hazel’s Heroes, as their presence keep me at home while she heals.”
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