When Lauren spit up the Pedialyte, her parents made an executive decision. “We’re going to Phoenix Children’s,” said her father, Tim Hague. That decision in November 2014 saved Lauren’s life.
Upon arrival at Phoenix Children’s, Lauren received an IV for severe dehydration, and doctors from multiple specialties evaluated her.
“Over the course of the first two or three hours, the level of care that we received was so vastly different than what we had gotten at the other hospital,” Tim says. “It wasn’t even a comparison. It was at that moment that my wife and I took a deep breath because we knew we were in the right spot.”
After an MRI, CT scan and X-rays, they had an answer.
Pediatric gastroenterologist Emmanuel K.O. Siaw, MD, told the Hagues: “She has an impaction from the bottom of her stomach to the top of her rectum, and first thing tomorrow morning, we’re going to fix her.”
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Before she had an upper GI endoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy to remove the hardened stool from her intestines, the toddler was sedated. Lauren gripped her parents’ fingers in each hand as the anesthesia took effect.
“It’s probably the hardest thing that my wife and I have ever had to do in our lives,” Tim recalls. “We both fell apart. It was so hard to watch.”
A few hours later, Dr. Siaw returned with good news: The procedure was a success. The Hagues also learned that without the correct diagnosis and timely care, Lauren might not have survived.
“Phoenix Children’s answered our prayers,” Tim says. “We aren’t grateful just for the care for my daughter, but also the care that the nurses gave to us as parents. They didn’t know if everything was going to be OK, but they made us feel like everything was going to be OK—that she was in the best hands that she could be in. And she was.”
GIVING BACK
Because of his family’s experience at Phoenix Children’s, Tim was eager to donate his personal time and money to help raise funds for the hospital.
He joined Innovation Circle, a giving group that funds high-impact projects. In 2019, he experienced a full-circle moment when Shauna Schroeder, MD, applied for a grant to launch a transnasal endoscopy program at Phoenix Children’s so that children could have an endoscopy without anesthesia.
“Of course, I voted for that because it was so close to my heart,” he says. The project received funding, and today, Phoenix Children’s is recognized as a leader in pediatric transnasal endoscopy.
Tim also serves on the Allied Advisor Council, a network of professionals in finance, wealth management, real estate and law who build awareness and inspire philanthropic support. In 2024, he raised more than $50,000 through an office fundraiser and outreach to clients, family and friends.
A financial services professional of more than 25 years, Tim runs Dynamite Wealth Management, a full-service financial planning firm. Clients across 24 states knew his family’s story and were eager to support the cause.
Today, Lauren is 13 and a healthy, active, straight-A student. In March, she competed in 10 state championship swimming events and earned three bronze medals. She loves traveling, spending time with her family and playing with the family’s French bulldog, Mrs. Pickles. She still keeps a small souvenir from her stay at Phoenix Children’s: a Beanie Baby mouse named Tiptoe, who accompanied her during her MRI.
The Hagues are certain Phoenix Children’s is the reason Lauren is alive and thriving. “
What I want people to know,” Tim says, “is that there is no comparison with the level of care you get at Phoenix Children’s.”
