The ability of hope

***This version corrects the amount of money the state contributed to the project to make TeWinkle Park fully accessible to the disabled. The state’s Parks and Recreation Department contributed $930,000 to the $1.4-million project. Costa Mesa contributed $250,000 and the rest came from private fundraising.***

After an ultrasound revealed many birth defects doctors thought would shorten their baby’s life to mere days, Jennifer and Doug Hansen were advised to come in the following day for an abortion.

“All I could think was, ‘Wow,’” Jennifer Hansen said, recalling her reaction to the diagnosis. “[The doctors] were just doing their job, but how dare they say that?”

Instead, the Hansens chose to take the diagnosis in stride, ignoring the recommendations of their doctor and going through with the birth of their first daughter, Angel.

On the day of her delivery, the extent of Angel’s troubles became clear — multiple muscular-skeletal deformities, problems with the size and operations of her brain, conjoined fingers and dislocated hips.

Also obvious was the love of her parents, who kept a constant vigil by her side at the Intensive Care Unit. As Jennifer said, they named the girl “Angel” and left the rest up to God.

“We didn’t leave the hospital for a week,” Doug said.

Perhaps inheriting some of her parent’s stubborn resilience, Angel would ultimately defy the pessimistic assessments of her doctors, leaving the hospital with her beaming family in just more than a week.

“They needed her bed because the ICU was packed,” Doug said, laughing. “They just said ‘You can take her home today, let us know if she needs a checkup!’ We were overjoyed.”

Six years later, Angel nonchalantly giggles as she bounces on her father’s lap at the TeWinkle Park playground and watches her 3-year-old brother DJ dig with a plastic shovel.

Soon Angel will be able to play at the park as well, because of “Angel’s Charity,” the nonprofit the Hansens started in their daughter’s honor.

Indeed, today’s groundbreaking of their latest project, “Angels Playground,” will demolish the current park at TeWinkle and replace it with a new one that will be accessible to the disabled. The project should last about six months.

“There will be a big structure on the playground, but what makes it so universally accessible is its rubberized surface,” Doug Hansen said. “A wheelchair or walker could go up to the equipment itself, and there are a series of ramps that go throughout the playground to large swings, sandboxes and other equipment.”

The park meets ADA requirements, but that’s far from adequate, Doug said.

Children in wheelchairs, or even older adults who want to observe their children or grandchildren in play, face major hurdles when trudging through sand and other hazards to reach the park equipment.

It was his frustration with this state of affairs that prompted Doug Hansen to approach the Costa Mesa City Council about developing such a park for the city.

“We’re of course very excited that they’re breaking ground,” he said. “It’s a strange feeling to think we’ve raised all this money, convinced people it’s a good cause and that it’s actually going to begin [today].”

The project was funded largely through a $350,000 matching grant by the California State Parks Department and a $250,000 gift by the city of Costa Mesa, but private donors and fundraising by the Hansens contributed about $98,000.

While naturally excited about the project, the Hansens say their real hope is that folks will hear their story and decide against the position initially articulated by their doctor six years ago should they ever face it.

“If a couple is expecting a child with birth defects, I can’t say you’ll be as fortunate as us, but don’t believe what doctors tell you,” he said. “We live this every day, and with it, your life can take all sorts of avenues.”