Miracle Worker
by Laura Breen Galante
In a beautifully full-circle moment, Emma Provenzano of Sanford is giving back to an organization that is near and dear to her heart.
Emma, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Central Florida, has been an ambassador for the nonprofit Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) since she was three. Born with multiple congenital heart defects, Emma received lifesaving care from CMN-affiliated hospitals.
This spring, Emma served as alumni coordinator for Knight-Thon, part of the Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon movement. The event, UCF’s largest student-driven philanthropy, raised $688,935.30 to benefit Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children – a CMN hospital.
“It just really shows how impactful Knight-Thon is,” says Emma, a graduate of Lake Mary High School, “because the same program that was helping my family at a rough time is still doing that [for others] today, and now I get to be a part of that.”
Holding On to Hope
Emma’s mother, Shannon Provenzano, had a healthy pregnancy with Emma, but doctors realized at delivery that something was wrong. The newborn was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit and had her first open-heart surgery at six days old. She would go on to have three more surgeries before turning four years old, plus so many echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, and X-rays that her parents lost count.
“From the very beginning, Children’s Miracle Network hospitals provided us hope,” says Shannon. “They showed us how important it was to believe in miracles, and Emma is proof of that every single day. From our very first fundraiser when Emma was two or three weeks old to our continued donations and monthly support for the cause, we know how important hope is to parents like us caring for amazing children like Emma.”
So when CMN reached out to the Provenzanos to ask about Emma being an ambassador for the program, parents Chuck and Shannon’s answer was yes. They started doing small talks at events and were eventually invited to participate at the UCF Knight-Thon.
The dance marathon, the culmination of a yearlong fundraising push for CMN, is a 12-hour event sprinkled with family testimonies, musical performances, games, and other presentations. All monies raised go to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children to pay for items such as diapers, incubators, transport vehicles, and medical procedures.
To help organize this year’s event, Emma reached out to alumni of the program – many of whom she and her family have known for years – plus hospitals and other organizations.
Coming Full Circle
“It’s amazing, because when I started as an ambassador, it was a very small program, in a small basketball arena,” recalls Emma. “And now it’s in Addition Arena [on UCF’s campus], and we have thousands of students who donate and participate every year.”
Supporting pediatric patients and helping kids be kids again means a lot to Emma and her family.
“Being able to witness Emma’s involvement with Children’s Miracle Network hospitals from her early days until now brings so much pride,” says Shannon. “It has truly come full circle in watching her continue to make miracles possible, not only for herself but for so many children with medical needs.”
Emma is thriving now, but the journey has been difficult at times for the Provenzano family.
“There were many, many days where we just didn’t know what the future would hold,” says Shannon. “But we had faith in Emma and confidence in her medical team. She defies every challenge thrown her way and does it with such beauty and grace. She may not know or fully understand the impact she has had on hundreds, if not thousands of people, but one day she will. And I’m honored to be part of the journey.”