Madoka Miyagi
For decades, Madoka Miyagi and her husband, Michael Herbers, resided in West Tennessee— first in Memphis then in Bartlett. They moved from Bartlett to a city outside of Oxford in neighboring Mississippi after their first daughter left for college. They thought they were done having children; however, 18 years after their first daughter was born, Madoka and Michael were surprised to learn they were expecting another baby girl.
Eleanor was born at 27 weeks, nearly 11 weeks premature and weighing about 2 pounds. Her condition at birth was extremely critical, so she was airlifted from the hospital in Oxford, MS, to a hospital in Memphis that had the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) facilities to care for her needs. Eleanor was in the NICU for 87 days, experiencing serious complications, which included a brain bleed and collapsed lung. She was in an incubator and was placed on life support. She received around-the-clock care for the first two weeks of her stay and had to be resuscitated several times.
This challenging time required a community in order to pull through. Madoka and Michael refused to leave the hospital, so various family members took turns watching Eleanor so the parents could go home to shower and change clothes. Local businesses in Memphis provided freshly cooked dinners for families with children in the hospital. Madoka’s mother-in-law organized a church prayer group. Hospital staff stepped in to answer questions and offer other types of support. To Madoka and Michael, it all made a huge difference at a time when they felt helpless.
Because of Eleanor’s critical condition at birth, she qualified for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which made her eligible for TennCare (Medicaid). Under federal law, children like Eleanor can receive coverage in the state where they’re treated, even if their family lives in another state. This meant TennCare would cover the cost of her hospital care. However, since her SSI and TennCare coverage didn’t begin until the month after she was born, Eleanor’s family was left with a large medical bill for the care she received during her first month of life.
TennCare’s denial of full coverage began an administrative fight that would continue for 12 months, through the hardest parts of Eleanor’s NICU stay, Madoka’s post-partum period, and after Eleanor was discharged and using an oxygen tank to breathe at home. The Tennessee Justice Center stepped in to appeal the denial and help Eleanor’s family by providing legal representation. After TJC’s intervention, TennCare and the Memphis hospital ultimately did not pursue charging Eleanor’s family the hospital bills. This has allowed the family to focus on experiencing the joys of taking Eleanor to the Memphis Zoo, showing her how to pick vegetables from the garden, and fostering rescue dogs.
Now 18 months old, Eleanor is thriving. Her mother describes her as chatty and headstrong—just the type to make a great lawyer one day. She is catching up to children her own age in a variety of ways; she recently completed all of her physical therapy sessions and is now starting to walk and improve her motor skills.
Once upon a time, Eleanor required constant care and frequent visits with various specialists. Today, she requires few medical appointments and is on a regular 18-month checkup timeline with her doctor. “If I never see a neurologist again, I’ll be so happy,” reflects Madoka when thinking about where Eleanor started compared to where she is today.
TJC is proud to award Madoka Miyagi as a 2025 Mother of the Year for her tireless efforts to ensure Eleanor receives the coverage and care she is entitled to. As a mother who watched her daughter fight for her life in the NICU and TennCare deny coverage, Madoka knows what it’s like for one person, a vulnerable person, to go against a giant like TennCare. She left this experience with deep gratitude for the kindness of strangers, the people in her family, and for TJC. "I will never not help somebody,” she says. And for anyone asking whether they would want to fight TennCare when they are already dealing with so much, Madoka wants them to know they are not alone because there are organizations like TJC that can help families in their most dire times.
Photo by Allison Rodgers Photography
