Youstiana

Rebuilding Hope One Hug at a Time

Youstiana's Story

In January 2019, 2-year-old Youstiana and her family were in a tragic car accident near their home in Nashville, Tennessee. In an instant, the family was forever changed.

Youstiana’s mother and 6-year-old brother tragically died in the accident. Although Youstiana’s 10-year-old sister, Youlana, had only minor injuries and recovered, Youstiana and her father, Alaa, were seriously injured.

The accident left Youstiana with a severe brain injury that led to several surgeries, including one on her eye. Once a smiling, talkative toddler, Youstiana suffered memory loss, vision and hearing problems, and could no longer walk or speak after the accident. She also had difficulty moving her right side due to a stroke after the brain injury.

Two months after the car accident, Youstiana was transferred to Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis—300 miles from her home and family.

Youstiana’s family moved to the United States from Egypt with no other family connection in the country. Due to his own injuries, Alaa struggled to lift Youstiana or provide the necessary special care. During his daughter’s stay, the grieving and unjured father was only able to visit Youstiana a few times a year. Alaa expressed that he wholeheartedly entrusted his young daughter’s care to the staff of Ranken Jordan.

“After the accident, I was losing hope, especially after my wife and son died,” Alaa recounted. “We almost lost Youstiana, too. Since she arrived at Ranken Jordan, I’ve seen lots of improvement in her. I’m so grateful that Youstiana is coming back to us.”

Steps Toward Healing

Because Alaa can’t visit his daughter as often as he would like, the team provides him with regular updates about Youstiana and finds creative ways to strengthen the father-daughter bond. Alaa was pleased to learn about Youstiana’s progress. “Everyone at Ranken Jordan loves Youstiana and does a very good job with her,” Alaa expressed. “When we came to visit in January, she was smiling and so happy to see me. She even tried to use her right arm to hug me, which she couldn’t do before. Even the physical therapist was surprised. She said she had never seen Youstiana so happy and that it means Youstiana remembers me. Her memory is coming back.”

Through therapy, Youstiana regained her balance and began to walk again using special equipment to stand up. Her vision and hearing also improved. Initially, she was refusing to eat. With support from a feeding tube, she became more and more willing to try new food after witnessing the other children eating.

The Ranken Jordan team focuses on sibling needs, too. Recognizing the emotional challenges Youstiana’s sister, Youlana, has endured, the team kept her entertained with fun activities during visits. “When Youlana comes to the hospital, she plays more than she visits her sister,” Alaa recalled with a laugh. “She enjoys all the activities.”

Connecting a World of Resources

The family’s circumstances lead to a wide variety of needs. Leaning on a strong network and vast experience, Ranken Jordan’s social work team provided vital resources for the family. Since Alaa speaks limited English, the team coordinated language translation services during care conference calls and family visits.

The team also arranged for flights, lodging, and transportation when Alaa and his family traveled to visit Youstiana in St. Louis. Ranken Jordan cultivated key connections with generous partners such as Southwest Airlines, who offered complimentary flight vouchers to families requiring specialized medical care. The staff of Ranken Jordan worked around the clock to meet the other essential needs of the family with the help of donor support and community resources.

Community of Support Bridges the Distance

One noteworthy form of community support combined technology with story time. A national non-profit called Little Wishes gave Youstiana and her father storybooks written in their native language of Arabic. The Ranken Jordan team regularly set up FaceTime story times so Alaa could read the books aloud to Youstiana, regardless of being separated by so many miles. While not quite the same as snuggling in a comfy chair to read, the virtual story time solution made a vital, heartfelt impact. “Youstiana looks at me when we’re reading and makes cooing sounds and tries to talk,” Alaa expressed. “She couldn’t do that before.”

The staff also connected the family to an Arabic speaking church in St. Louis. Church members visited Youstiana often and spoke to her in a familiar language to offer comfort.

When Youstiana turned 3, the church members joined Ranken Jordan staff in planning a special birthday party for her, complete with balloons and a cake. Since Youstiana’s family couldn’t be there, the party planners took plenty of photos, which were then sent to Alaa.

“They had a beautiful party for Youstiana, which touched me,” Alaa says. “The team at Ranken Jordan is like family and I feel very comfortable with her there. They treat us with such compassion and have been so understanding about what we’re going through. We appreciate the many things Ranken Jordan does for us.”