Meet Payton Jane Sanders

Texarkana, Arkansas

Payton Sanders arrived in the world a little earlier than expected.

Born in May 2002, Payton Sanders was not only two months premature, she also had hydrocephalus, an excess of fluid on her brain. The hydrocephalus was caused by a bleed on the right side of her brain.

She was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Arkansas Children’s Hospital immediately after birth.

“Having a premature child and learning of all the obstacles she would have to face, it was tough,” says Payton’s mother, Casey. “But after spending time in the NICU with Payton, we saw the other babies who were struggling to live and we knew we were lucky.”

When Payton was 5 days old, doctors placed a ventricular shunt in her brain to alleviate pressure from the fluid. She recuperated at ACH for a week, and then she was sent home to continue her recovery.

Due to complications from the brain bleed, Payton received occupational and physical therapy. As she grew older, her left side was markedly weaker than her right side.

“She had some difficulty at first, learning to crawl, pull up and walk, but once she mastered those things, because of her trademark persistence, she was positively unstoppable,” says Casey.

At a year old, Payton was diagnosed with strabismus, a vision condition which required her to wear glasses for a year. To fully correct the vision problems, Payton underwent eye surgery at ACH when she was 2.

Payton still struggles with using her left side to its full capacity. She still visits ACH for check-ups, and she loves to share her story with anyone she meets.

“Payton is a testament to the amazing work performed at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and she would be the first to tell you that is where she wants to go if anything happens to her,” says Casey.