Xander, Hawaii’s 2022 Children’s Miracle Network Champion

Xander Cabales says his mission in life is to inspire others. The 15-year-old will do just that over the next year as he serves as the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Champion for Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. When he was 7 years old, Xander came down with a fever and, by the next morning, his temperature spiked to 105 degrees. A severe rash began covering his body. Then, the skin around his eyes and mouth began to soften and shed, while his breathing became shallow. Doctors at Kapi‘olani diagnosed Xander with the life-threatening skin disorder Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and, later, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), a severe form of SJS that only affects about one in a million people each year. Due to the infection, Xander lost 60% of his skin. He spent four weeks on life support in the Kapi‘olani Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before showing signs of responsiveness. His family attributes his miraculous recovery to the team of Kapi‘olani specialists who cared for their son. “Given the rarity of this disease and how severe it can be for children, this was the place to be,” Young said. “We were able to coordinate all the different specialties – infectious disease, ophthalmology and the nurses who specialize in children’s health – which is what the team at Kapi‘olani does on a regular basis for children in Hawai‘i.”