Little Ella Grace Cochran’s parents hope to find a miracle in Baltimore, Md.

Ella, who was born Jan. 5, 2009, at Erlanger Medical Center with severe hydrocephalus, the result of aqueductal stenosis; an obstruction caused from a narrowing in the aqueduct, said her mother Brittany Cochran.

The problem was diagnosed in the 19th week of Cochran’s pregnancy.

“Because of this obstruction fluid accumulates in the brain, causing hydrocephalus,” Brittany Cochran said. The condition worsened during her pregnancy, because there is no way to fix the problem until birth,” she said.

At 4 days old, Ella underwent her first shunt surgery. She also began suffering from seizures due to the complexity of her condition. Since her birth, Ella’s life has been a constant round of surgeries and hospitalizations, her mother said.

At four-and-a-half months, Ella takes five medications three times a day and has spent more that half her life in hospitals.

There is no cure for hydrocephalus, Cochran said, but “Ella is our child and we love her. We’re praying for a miracle.”

Cochran and her husband Corey have another daughter, Daelynn.

“In March the doctors at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital told us to take Ella home and ‘love her while she was here.’ This was totally unacceptable for our family,” Cochran said. “We decided we needed a second opinion and that’s when we began educating ourselves.

“We discovered that the top ranked children's hospital specializing in Ella's condition was Johns Hopkins in Bal-timore, Md., but getting to Baltimore didn't seem practical to the physicians in Chattanooga, so they helped get us transferred to Atlanta to Egleston.”

Since March Ella has undergone two more shunt surgeries. Two weeks ago she was flown from Gordon ER to Eg-leston due to hypothermia issues. Because of her hydrocephalus Ella is having difficulties maintaining her body temperature.

“Her brain is severely abnormal, and we are visiting the emergency room every week and a half,” Cochran said. “Our life since January has been chaos.”

“She spent almost two weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Egleston only for them to tell us this was just going to be a ‘way of life’ for little Ella Grace,” Cochran said.

The trip to Johns Hopkins, Cochran said, “is our only hope. We won’t give up until we know we have taken her to the absolute best hospital in the country.”

A benefit to raise money for the trip will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Oostanaula Community Club off Ga. 156, and donations may be made to the Ella Grace Cochran Fund at Regions Bank.

“We are going to be taking Ella to Baltimore ourselves to seek help from some of the most skilled pediatric neurologists and neurosurgeons,” Cochran said.