Meet Josie Lee - Children's Miracle Network Champion!

Josie was born unresponsive, with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck multiple times. Her APGAR score was just a 2—her heart was the only organ that hadn’t already shut down or begun shutting down. After more than 15 minutes of resuscitation efforts, the medical team was finally able to regain responsiveness, and she was diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Intense seizures began quickly, and initial treatments weren’t effective. The NICU manager at the local hospital knew of a potential therapy available at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, but Josie would need to begin treatment within six hours of the incident. With no clear way to know exactly when the crisis started, her care team made the decision to airlift her. She arrived within three hours.

Upon arrival, Josie was placed on a cooling bed for 72 hours, lowering her body temperature to slow brain and organ activity and limit further injury.

Today, she experiences some short-term memory loss and reduced muscle tone in her legs, but she is otherwise full of life, energy, and excitement.

Josie is a 2026 CMN Champion from Cedar Falls, Iowa. She loves dancing, playing piano, singing, musicals—especially ones she can sing along with—playing violin, and playing the trumpet.