Bolton’s Bravery
With specialized, comprehensive care in hospitals tailored to the unique needs of pediatric patients, children’s hospitals help children and teens like Bolton defy the odds.
Joe Cascio
Our Stories
Every day, children’s hospitals help make moments possible. From providing access to the comprehensive care that children need to grow up to supporting children, teens, and their families with specialized treatment for some of the most complex illnesses. Discover more about the moments made possible by children’s hospital through patient stories from around the country.
Video Stories
Isaac’s Impact
Children’s hospitals provide advanced care for the most complex conditions in environments specially designed for pediatric patients, allowing children like Isaac to thrive.
Cami’s Courage
The specialized multidisciplinary teams at children’s hospitals ensure that children and teens – like Cami – can beat multiple complex conditions like cancer and heart failure.
Joseph’s Journey
The advanced, specialized care that children’s hospitals provide make moments – like Joseph beating pediatric brain cancer – possible.
Daniella’s Drive
With care delivered by specially trained pediatric clinicians, in environments designed just for children, children’s hospitals help children and teens – like Daniella – navigate complex medical conditions.
Featured Story
Innovative treatments keep Harlow smiling
Just weeks before 2-year-old Harlow was supposed to head to Jamaica to be the flower girl at her parents’ wedding, her mother noticed that her usually energetic daughter had developed a cough and grown lethargic. Her care team suggested she may have a mild viral infection and also suspected a heart murmur. But during the trip, Harlow’s condition began to worsen. The family flew her home and took her to UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, where a blood test revealed she had a rare form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. As Harlow prepared for her inpatient stay at Comer Children’s, her family was comforted not only by her oncology team’s confidence but also by the investigative therapies and established treatments offered by leukemia specialists. Harlow’s smile never dimmed, and she remained resilient even when an uncommon chemo allergy required her to be intubated. Twenty-eight months later, she rang the bell to signify the end of her cancer treatment. Today, Harlow is a healthy 5-year-old who loves to cook with her family and watch “Family Feud.” Even better, she’s still smiling.
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Care team helps Spike take his football to the college level
Isaac, better known as ‘Spike,’ is a top football player, attributing much of his success to the team efforts of Norton Children’s Orthopedics. In middle school, Spike was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease, a knee pain that most commonly occurs in young athletes going through growth spurts. Doctors at Norton Children’s helped Spike manage the pain, but just as he was approaching high school, he severely fractured his femur with patella dislocation. After the fracture, Spike’s care team performed surgery and provided extensive rehabilitation, allowing him to return to football the following season. Each of these challenges could have derailed his athletic dreams, but his coordinated care team guided him through every step of recovery. As soon as he stepped back on the field, he excelled as a player and became a team leader. The hospital’s team not only healed his physical injuries but also helped him navigate the emotional struggles associated with such setbacks. Today, Spike is set to continue his football career at North Carolina State University. He continues to visit his team at Norton Children’s to follow up on past injuries and set himself up for a healthy, successful future.
Shared challenges forge lifelong friendship
Brooklyn and Pia’s mothers met in a Facebook group for parents of children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) and were immediately struck by the similarities between their daughters’ cases. Both were diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss due to congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) shortly after birth and were treated at Cincinnati Children’s. They grew close and supported one another during their medical journeys. Beyond medical expertise, both families discovered a nurturing community at Cincinnati Children’s, where professionals provided invaluable guidance. They were presented with choices: cochlear implants or embracing sign language. Brooklyn’s family opted for implants, while Pia’s chose both, ensuring they could engage with both hearing and deaf communities. Today, Brooklyn and Pia are doing well with the help of their cochlear implants, which have facilitated their speech development. Their friendship, forged through shared challenges and triumphs, is truly a testament to the care and support they received from their children’s hospital.
Novel gene therapy offers beacon of hope for Karson
Karson’s sixth birthday was just around the corner when he asked for a simple wish: chocolate in every form imaginable. At the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD), Karson had been battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy since he was diagnosed at just 20 months old. Thankfully, a new novel gene therapy had just become available and held the promise of generating vital muscle proteins crucial for Duchenne patients like Karson. Days before Karson’s sixth birthday, the medication was transported overnight from Chicago, prepared, and administered. As he proudly demonstrated his strengthened limbs post-treatment, his family felt joy and relief, and most importantly for Karson, his care team brought him all his favorite chocolate treats for his birthday. Thanks to care from his children’s hospital, Karson and his family are now embracing more milestones, more cherished moments, and, of course, more chocolate.
Leo’s brave battle with cancer
When Leo was just two years old, doctors discovered cancer in his kidneys, lungs, and veins. From the start, Leo’s treatment plan was complex and demanding. When chemotherapy rounds were delayed due to illness, the hospital staff at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital rallied around Leo, ensuring he received the best care and support. The team worked tirelessly alongside specialists from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, coordinating surgeries and treatments seamlessly to optimize Leo’s chances of recovery. When Leo began radiation treatment at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, he became the first child to receive this type of care at the center, marking a milestone in pediatric oncology for the hospital. His family was moved by the hospital’s kindness, which included celebrations and gifts for Leo, marking his milestones with joy and encouragement. Leo’s courage, tenacity, and strength have shown through every step of the way. Today, Leo is in remission and is a rambunctious and lovable 3-year-old, always bringing smiles to those around him.
Innovative treatment for Arie’s complex aneurysm
One evening, Arie began to experience intense pain in her head followed by uncontrollable vomiting. Arie was swiftly transferred from a local hospital to Children’s Wisconsin where a CT scan showed a brain bleed resembling a ruptured aneurysm. Aneurysms in children are rare, and the cause is usually unknown. Arie’s aneurysm was complex, involving the main blood vessel going to the back of her brain and occipital lobe. The most common treatment, called a coil embolization, posed risks so the team at Children’s Wisconsin proposed something that had never been done at the hospital before – a bypass to reroute the blood supply to Arie’s vision area. Doctors took an artery that fed blood to Arie’s scalp tissues on the back of her head and connected it to the surface of her brain. By redirecting blood from the scalp to the affected territory, blood flow can be maintained, which protected her vision. After the bypass, the team performed the traditional coiling procedure of the aneurysm. Arie’s recovery went smoothly. Today, she continues to be monitored by Children’s Wisconsin. She is stable, and she has no long-term side effects from the aneurysm or surgery. She is enjoying middle school, loves bike rides, and taking care of her bearded dragon, Cheeto.
Making major strides thanks to craniofacial care
When Yanex was only nine months old, his doctor noticed a lack of developmental progress. Yanex still wasn’t trying to sit or crawl, and his movements were limited. But most notably, his physician was concerned about the shape of Yanex’s head. After an X-ray, his team at Nemours Children’s Health diagnosed him with craniosynostosis, a birth defect that causes seams between the bones in a child’s skull to close prematurely. This was preventing him from developing his mobility, leaving him very dependent on his parents. The craniofacial team followed up with multiple treatments. They first remodeled and expanded Yanex’s forehead and later expanded the back of his skull to provide enough room for his brain to grow. Yanex’s care team supported the family through both surgeries and the recovery, ensuring they fully understood each treatment and procedure. Yanex made a remarkable recovery, learning to crawl, walk, and run within seven months of the surgeries. He also began talking more as time went on. Today, Yanex is a healthy toddler who enjoys playing with his siblings!
