A Grandmother's Gift

It was 6 a.m. when Hai Chang and Phung Ly received the call that they will never forget.

"They said, 'You need to come to the hospital as soon as possible but drive safely'," recalls Hai.

One day earlier, their 2-month-old son Joseph had been intubated and transferred from a hospital in San Jose to the pediatric intensive care unit at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford with a severe case of pertussis (whooping cough). His other triplet siblings had caught pertussis as well but were responding better to the treatment in the hospital.

When the couple arrived at Packard Children's, doctors told them that one of Joseph's lungs had collapsed and he had needed to be resuscitated.

"He coded for more than 20 minutes," Hai says. "They had this whole team of 20 people just surrounding and working on him."

Joseph beat a severe case of pertussis when he was 2 months old with the help of care providers at Packard Children's.

Hai says doctors were unsure how that length of time without oxygen would impact a baby and predicted it might lead to learning delays.

To everyone's amazement, Joseph excelled and went on to earn straight A's in high school. Joseph, now 19, attends the University of California, Riverside, with his brother and sister.

"He was definitely a miracle baby," says Hai.

Joseph's grandmother Ling Chang was so impressed by the care her grandson received that she wanted to include Packard Children's in her estate plans. She was close to her grandchildren, taking vacations together and teaching them to cook traditional Chinese dishes in her Palo Alto home.

Before she passed away last January at 81, Ling directed a percentage of her individual retirement account (IRA) to our hospital.

"We know my mom is resting in peace knowing that she could give something to help Packard Children's hospital and the community." — Hai Chang

"There was no question for her," says Hai. "She felt that Packard Children's was a top-notch professional organization, and thought the world of the dedicated and compassionate doctors, nurses, and staff there."

Hai helped his mom research ways to give and saw that a retirement plan was a tax-efficient and simple way to include Packard Children’s in her estate plan. Basically, the full value of what is distributed can be used by the nonprofit, supporting any purpose a donor designates. Ling's gift will benefit the Children's Fund, which supports our hospital's highest priorities in pediatric and obstetric research, family and community programs, and extraordinary care for all families, regardless of their financial circumstances.

"It was good for Packard Children's and good for my mom's estate," says Hai. "We know my mom is resting in peace knowing that she could give something to help Packard Children's hospital and the community."

Reach out to the Gift Planning Team to learn more about how we can assist you in achieving your charitable goals.