Race for Every Child:
Local Six-Year-Old Gives Back
to the Hospital That Saved Her Life
TEXT: Erica Baca
M att and Sarah Rodjom of Fairfax, VA were
overjoyed when they found out they were
expecting twin daughters in the spring of 2011.

But at their 20-week checkup, their joy turned to worry
and fear.

One of their daughters, Marisa, had a cyst where half of
her right lung should have been. The diagnosis was grim.

Doctors told the Rodjoms that their baby may have major
birth defects, or worse, she may not survive.

The Rodjoms immediately sought the expertise of the
16 October 2017 washingtonFAMILY.com
team at Children’s National Health System. The first-time
parents had never realized the benefit of having a top-10
pediatric hospital in their backyard. But like countless
families before, and after, Matt and Sarah quickly
realized how reassuring and life-saving Children’s
National would be for their growing family.

The team at Children’s National began monitoring twins
Marisa and Emily weekly and worried that Marisa might
not be breathing when she was born.

Luckily, at 36 weeks, Sarah delivered the girls without
any complications. Marisa would be monitored for 11