ROCHELLE — A Rochelle family had a special homecoming this week.

Wes and Cristal Carr brought their17-month old daughter, Eden, home after a six-month hospital stay where she had been battling a rare condition called Arteriovenous Malformation.

Understandably, Wes and Cristal are ecstatic to have their baby home again.

Wes expressed his gratitude for the support, emotionally and financially as well. He went from working two jobs to working one job and Cristal left her job to be by Eden’s side during the lengthy stay at the Chicago hospital.

“We are so grateful and humbled by the support we’ve received from our friends, family and neighbors,” he began. “The community of Rochelle has proven that it is one of the most loving places in the world. It’s obviously been a difficult process emotionally and they’ve lifted us up each and every day. Financially, the donations made Eden’s miraculous recovery possible. Those donations helped us be with our daughter when we needed to and help her get back on track.”

Although Eden is still healing, she is on the fast track to recovery. Wes noted the efforts were made hospital-wide to identify and treat the AVM in her liver. A team from the National Institute of Health and Boston’s Children’s Hospital were also consulted for her care.

“No doctors have ever seen an AVM cause so much damage so quickly,” Wes said. “AVMs are already very rare and she had two, with one affecting a major artery.”

After Eden’s surgery a couple months ago, Wes said there had been some struggles in providing nutrients and she still relies on a central line. There are plans in the near future to repair a part of her digestive system that has developed scar tissue but for now Eden will continue to heal until doctors determine the procedure is safe to be performed.

“Going forward, we are mostly going to be waiting to see how Eden continues to heal. As we left, her doctors told us that they never would have imagined that Eden would have left the hospital looking as healthy as she does today. It’s truly a miracle,” Wes said. “She made remarkable improvements in her health and development but she has fallen a little bit behind. Eden will be evaluated by the hospital to see if she qualifies for physical, occupational, and/or speech therapy to help her get back on track.”

Wes credits the staff members at Lurie’s Children’s Hospital for “pushing the boundaries to save Eden’s life.”

“We’re also so thankful to many of the nurses who were so involved in Eden’s recovery — Darlene, Olivia, Liz, Elyse, Donna, Kristyn and Ellen. Eden fell in love with them all and each of them are everything a nurse and person should be,” the couple began. “We want to thank Ax In Hand guitars and all of Wesley’s students that were so patient with him while we went through this. Thank you to the many local churches who collected donations, prayed, cried and rejoiced with us. Thank you to everyone who sent gifts of comfort to the hospital. Thank you to all of the families who supported us, watched our dog, fed our cats, or cleaned our home when we were away. Thank you to the friends who became closer than family.”

Adding, “Thank you Rochelle for helping care for your own.”