Regina toddler making a ‘miracle’ recovery after swallowing teddy bear eye

After being physically unable to eat solid food for most of her life, two-year-old Hailey Wudwud will be able to try Thanksgiving dinner this year.

The Regina toddler went in for throat reconstruction surgery on Sept. 5 following the discovery that she had swallowed a teddy bear eye a year earlier and it was causing her to have breathing problems.

Less than a month after undergoing a 10-hour surgery that saw one-third of her stomach replace part of her esophagus, the girl’s grandma, Cyndi Gabora, said she’s back to eating Cheerios and pancakes.

“She went nuts the first time we put food in front of her, and she just looked at us like, ‘What, for me?’ ” Gabora said with a chuckle.

While Wudwud is still having trouble eating mushy or liquid foods like soup or yogurt, her grandma noted the toddler doesn’t have any trouble eating solid food.

“It’s almost like she’s back to where she was — except for her few feedings of liquids a day,” Gabora said. “I call it a miracle and I thank the doctors of Saskatoon.”

In a few months, doctors will reassess Wudwud to see if the holes in her throat have fully closed up, and whether she still needs a feeding tube in her stomach to swallow liquids.

Until then, Lance Payne, the girl’s dad, said he’s just looking forward to eating Thanksgiving dinner together with the toddler at the table, enjoying the meal.

“Her five brothers and sisters consider her to be a superhero, and this has brought them together so much more than anything else could have,” Payne said.

Because Wudwud celebrated her second birthday in the hospital, her dad said the family plans to spoil her at Christmastime.