Local Girl Searches For Nurse Who Saved Her Life 10 Years Ago

Just a day after 10-year-old Krystal Mach, who lives in the Diamond Bar area, was born, a nurse discovered that she was having trouble breathing. It turns out, Krystal had a hole in her diaphragm, and she had life-saving surgery. Now, Krystal would like to track this nurse down in order to tell her, “Thank you.” Here is Krystal's story, in her own words:

There are so many ways I can begin this, but I’m doing it this way. Let’s pretend we’re traveling back in time to the year 2000. It’s October 26, and a woman was giving birth to a baby girl in Anaheim, California, in a medical hospital called Kaiser Permanente. They named the baby girl Krystal. I hope you noticed that baby was me, all cuddled up in my mother’s arms.

But the very next morning, when my mom was still resting in the hospital, the nurse came in and told my mom she thought I had trouble breathing. The nurse suggested I should be seen by a doctor. The doctor examined me, took an x-ray, and diagnosed that I had a hole in my diaphragm. In medical terms, it is called “diaphragmatic hernia.” The doctor said I needed to have a surgery to patch up the hole as soon as possible in order for me to live. I was transported by an ambulance to a children’s hospital equipped to perform surgery on infants. My surgery was done when I was three days old. My family was so shocked by my condition and worried about my life that they never had a chance to find out the nurse’s name who noticed my breathing problem. Luckily, the surgery was a great success. My doctor told my parents I was a miracle baby. A lot of children who have the same condition are not so lucky and they die shortly after birth.

Now, let’s travel back to the present time. I’m now 10 years old, living a healthy and happy life. I love to sing, dance, write, read, and play with animals. When I grow up, I want to be a pediatrician, because once my parents told me that I was a miracle baby, that nurse that saved my life inspired me. I want to be just like her. I started thinking about my future, and I was thinking, if I wanted to go to UCLA, I would get a job, play tennis, major in biology, and get straight A’s every year, and try to get a perfect score on the SAT test. I know what you must be thinking, that my future is very difficult to accomplish, but I say that anyone can accomplish anything that is impossible if you work really hard to earn it. Of course, my family and friends encourage me to start getting straight A’s now to get into the habit of studying, so I studied hard for two trimesters this year in fifth grade. This third trimester, I am going to accomplish it again to get good classes in junior high.

Right now, one of my goals is to get this article published in a newspaper or a magazine, and send it to Kaiser Permanente. Another goal is to get that nurse’s name, and I need your help to get it.

Often times I wonder, who is the nurse that saved my life? How is she doing? Where does she live? What does she look like? Does she know she did a wonderful thing ten years ago? She saved a little girl’s life! If I ever find out who she is, I’ll give her a big hug and tell her how thankful I am. Without her doing her job right, I literally would not be here today. Thank God for her. I see her as my angel. 

If you happen to go to Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, ask someone if they can find a nurse on shift on October 26, 2000. If you find out who it is, you can contact me and mail your letter to my writing school:

The Literacy Guild

Attn Krystal Mach

2110 S. Hacienda Blvd

Hacienda Heights, CA 91745