Three years ago, on what should have been an ordinary morning at the Omelete Shoppe in Jasper, Alabama, life took an unexpected turn for Ryan and Leah Gann.
Ryan was waiting for his breakfast when he heard the faint but unmistakable sound of a baby crying.

The cries came not from the dining room, but from the kitchen.
Concerned, Ryan stepped closer and realized this was not something he could ignore.

He called Leah, and she told him plainly:

“Call 9-1-1 or DHR.”
The baby, only two months old, needed someone to step in.

At that time, Ryan and Leah already had their hands full with four children under the age of eight.

Their life was busy, messy, and full of the normal chaos of raising a large family.
But when the moment came, their hearts were ready to say yes.
And so it wasn’t long before the Ganns brought that baby into their home and made her their own.

Her name was Gracie.
Today, everyone calls her Amazing Gracie.

Gracie’s life has never been simple, and in truth, it’s something of a miracle she is here at all.
Now three years old, Gracie carries a history filled with seizures, hospital stays, and near-death moments.

Yet she also carries a spirit that refuses to quit.

Just two months ago, she came home from the hospital after her longest and hardest fight yet.
She can now hold her head up.

She can walk again.
And most precious of all, she has begun to speak.

At last count, she could say five words: Mama, Dada, Abbie (her sister), Bubba (her brothers),

and eat.
Her parents hope more words will come soon, each syllable a hard-won victory.

Gracie’s battles began more than eighteen months ago, just as the family was celebrating her second birthday.

On September 29th, 2023, she spiked a fever and suffered her first febrile seizure.
The convulsions terrified her family, but doctors assured them she would recover.
She was evaluated, stabilized, and sent home.
Everyone prayed it was an isolated event.

It wasn’t.

On April 24th, 2024, Gracie seized again — this time more violently.
Her tiny body went into full cardiac arrest.
In those frantic moments, Leah, who is a nurse practitioner, leapt into action.

She performed CPR and administered oxygen until medics arrived.
Her quick thinking saved her daughter’s life.

Gracie was rushed into specialty care, stabilized, and once again — against the odds — sent home.

The family exhaled, grateful but shaken.
They hoped it would be the last time.

But the third time was not the charm.
It was the greatest challenge of all.

On December 23rd, 2024, just two days before Christmas, Gracie suffered her third seizure.

This one led to respiratory arrest.
She was placed on a ventilator for 11 days.
Her small body, already so fragile, began to break under the weight of complication after complication.

She developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
Then C-Diff.
Then pneumonia.
Then sepsis.
Blood clots formed.
Her kidneys failed.

The family was told to prepare for the worst.

That Christmas, the four Gann children at home — all under the age of 11 — woke at 1 a.m. to open presents.

Leah wanted them to have the joy of the holiday before she rushed to the hospital to sit by Gracie’s side.
“It was looking really, really bad,” Leah later said.

In her desperation, she turned to Facebook and asked for prayers.
Nearly 200,000 people responded.
A wave of love, support, and faith rose around the Ganns, carrying them when their own strength was failing.

Then came January 10th, 2025 — Leah’s 36th birthday.
That morning, something miraculous happened.
Gracie opened her eyes.
After weeks of unconsciousness, she looked at her mother.

“It was the happiest day of my life,” Leah said softly.

But the rollercoaster was not over.

Soon after, Gracie became septic again.
Doctors explained that she had suffered a global brain injury, and scans showed her brain had actually shrunk.
For any parent, the words were devastating.
But then came a sliver of hope: “As a child, there is time for Gracie’s brain to grow,” the experts said.
There was reason to believe that healing was still possible.

Two months later, Gracie was finally able to come home.
She has not had a seizure since December.
She is making progress that many thought impossible.
She can hold her head up.
She is walking again, step by fragile step.
She attends therapy five times a week, working tirelessly to regain what was lost.

Her parents marvel daily at her resilience.
“We continue to be amazed that Gracie survived — the odds of her surviving were very low,” Leah admits.
But survive she did.
And thrive, she just might.

Gracie’s story has become one of faith, love, and defiance in the face of impossible odds.
She has a vocabulary of five words now, but her parents dream of hearing more.
Perhaps someday soon, she will string two words together.

Maybe those two words will be Amazing Gracie.

It would be fitting.
For every battle she has faced, every moment she has clawed her way back, every prayer whispered for her survival — it all points to the truth that she is nothing short of amazing.

And though she may be too young to understand, Gracie’s life has already given her family — and thousands who follow her story — a testimony of hope.
She has shown that miracles still happen.
She has proven that even the smallest, most fragile life can carry the greatest strength.

Gracie’s journey is far from over.
There will be more therapies, more appointments, more fears.
But for now, there is also laughter in the Gann household.
There is gratitude for another day together.
There is faith that the little girl who wasn’t supposed to survive will one day tell her own story in her own words.

Until then, her family will keep calling her by the name she has earned:
Amazing Gracie.