When a rare injury meets steadfast determination
As just a freshman in high school, Chris was coming off an incredibly successful fall cross-country season. He had regularly placed among the top performers during races — often one of the lone freshmen amongst all upperclassmen — and had even placed first once during the season. He had his sights set on the winter track season, which came with equally high expectations.
But just two days before Christmas, while competing in the 300-meter track event at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Chris’ season was cut short. In the middle of the race, he felt his hamstring go from loose to tight very quickly, culminating in a...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - November 6, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Connor Ertz Tags: Our Patients’ Stories distance running Dr. Benton Heyworth Orthopedic Center Sports Medicine Division Source Type: news
Dealing with a diagnosis of epilepsy: Common questions from parents
A diagnosis of epilepsy can seem overwhelming: You likely have a lot of questions about how seizures — and their treatment — will affect your child’s life and what that might mean for your family. That’s why education is crucial for helping ensure that you understand as much as possible about the condition. Events such as the Fifth Annual Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland are wonderful opportunities to learn from experts and from other families. Here, Dr. Arnold Sansevere of the Epilepsy Center at Boston Children’s Hospital answers five common questions from parents and kids.
What causes seizures?
A. Seizure...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - November 2, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Ask the Expert Diseases & Conditions Dr. Arnold Sansevere epilepsy epilepsy center seizures Source Type: news
Happy Halloween to our patients
To the princesses and princes who slay dragons,
the firefighters who battle things bigger than fire,
the superheroes whose bravery makes us brave
and the fairies who touch us with their magic —
you inspire us today and every day.
Click on the photos below to read their stories.
Will and Mikey
Allie
Sebastian and August
Zoe and Ava
Jayce
Molly and Wills
Sebastian and Julia
Oliver and his parents
Kennedy
Jeffrey and his parents
Camden
Brayden and Carter
Joey
Jett
Lis
...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 31, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jenny Fernandez Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Halloween Source Type: news
‘Please take good care of our baby sister’: Help for Addison’s hemangioma
Most parents dress their baby girls in headbands for fun. But for Addison Quandt, these accessories, adorned with bows and flowers, weren’t a frivolous fashion statement. Instead, they helped hold in place the gauze that covered a large hemangioma on the back of her neck. “People always said what a fashionable baby she was,” says her mom, Dianne. “If they only knew.”
Addison was born with four hemangiomas, common benign vascular tumors that typically appear as red birthmarks within a week or two of birth. In many cases, they don’t cause problems and clear up without treatment. But not only weren’t Addison’s...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 30, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Belinda Dickie Dr. Denise Adams Dr. Marilyn Liang hemangioma Vascular Anomalies Center Source Type: news
From Buenos Aires to Boston for pediatric stroke care
Twice a year, Osvaldo and Sol board a plane in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For a week or more, they leave behind their home, their friends, their jobs — and, sometimes, their two daughters, Ines and Clara. But what waits for them, a continent away, is worth it. In Boston, they say, they have found expert care for their son, Francisco.
“Francisco was perfectly fine when he was born,” says Sol. “But two days later, we were having trouble waking him up.” Although initially doctors assured the family that his behavior was normal, they quickly transferred him to the neonatal intensive care unit when he began having diffi...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 27, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Cameron Trenor Dr. Michael Rivkin International Health Services physical therapy stroke Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center Source Type: news
Courtney ’s story: Piecing together a genetic puzzle
Courtney Whitmore was born 22 years ago with a cleft palate, two clubbed feet and fists that were so tightly clenched they couldn’t be pulled apart. Since Courtney was an otherwise happy and healthy baby, neither her parents nor her doctor saw cause to be concerned about these seemingly unrelated conditions. What they didn’t realize was that these were the first clues to a genetic puzzle that would take ten years to unravel.
The next clue came at age 3.
“One day my dad and I were playing peekaboo, and suddenly I couldn’t see,” says Courtney. “My parents rushed me to the hospital and the doctors discovered both ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 25, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Ellen Greenlaw Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories brain aneurysm Cardiovascular Genetics Program Cerebrovascular Surgery and Interventions Center Dr. Darren Orbach Dr. Lawrence Karlin Dr. Pedro del Nido Dr. Ronald Lacro Loeys-Dietz syndrome Source Type: news
Fighting for the next family: Mom ’s experience inspires nutrition support guidelines
As Michelle Marti watched her twin sons, Nicholas and Max, run around the playground, she worried. To a stranger — like the representative of their local school’s Planning and Placement Team (PPT), there to evaluate the boys’ eligibility for special needs services in kindergarten — they looked like any other kids having fun. But their playfulness masked a serious illness: short bowel syndrome, the result of a condition called Hirschsprung’s disease. “They look healthy on the outside because all of their medical differences are under their clothes,” admits Michelle.
Those differences include an ostomy for Nich...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 24, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Parenting Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation Hirschsprung's disease Jessica McCaig short bowel syndrome (SBS). total parenteral nutrition Source Type: news
Looking to the future: Robot-assisted surgery offers hope for Brendan
Brendan Randolph focuses on the lane in front of him, takes a few steps and lets the ball fly down the lane. He waits to see where it lands and then turns back, grinning with satisfaction: With all ten pins down, it’s a strike. Bowling is one of his favorite pastimes, and he’s thrilled to be back at it. That’s no small feat for this 17-year-old, who underwent brain surgery just a few months ago.
Brendan and his parents, Joanne and Chris
Running out of options for epilepsy
Brendan began experiencing seizures within just a few hours of his birth and was diagnosed with epilepsy, believed to be the result of a stroke. As...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 23, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Phillip Pearl Dr. Scellig Stone epilepsy epilepsy center robotics seizures Source Type: news
Jenna ’s story: How two surgeons changed her path in life
“Your daughter was a very sick little girl.” Those were the first words that came out of Dr. Peter Waters’ mouth as he addressed my parents in the waiting room of Boston Children’s Hospital, back in 1999. They had been anxiously waiting, wondering and worrying about my condition.
“Will they get it all?”
“Will she be the same?”
“Will she survive?”
All of these questions occupied the minds of my parents as they sat waiting for their two-year-old daughter to come out of emergency surgery.
A life-saving procedure
…it’s what now inspires me to want to become a doctor myself”
Dr. Waters, the Or...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 19, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jenna Lahey Tags: Our Patients’ Stories Division of Sports Medicine Dr. Lyle Micheli Dr. Peter Waters Hand and Orthopedic Upper Extremity Program Orthopedic Center Septic arthritis Source Type: news
Looking at the whole child: Coordinated care for spina bifida helps Jeffrey thrive
Jeffrey Marotz and his family may have driven to Boston Children’s Hospital from their home in New York, but it was really the boy’s feet that brought him here.
Born with severe spina bifida, a complex birth defect that affects the development of a child’s spinal cord, spine and brain, Jeffrey had also been diagnosed with clubfoot, a related orthopedic condition that causes the foot to twist unnaturally.
Previous surgeries hadn’t worked and the braces that had been custom made for then three-year-old Jeffrey didn’t fit correctly. “Nothing was working,” says his mom, Michelle.
A team approach to spina bifida
F...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 18, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jenny Fernandez Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories clubfoot Dr. Benjamin Warf Dr. Carlos Estrada Dr. Lawrence Karlin Dr. Terry Buchmiller Rebecca Sherlock spina bifida Source Type: news
Keeping the Beat: A retreat for kids with pacemakers and ICDs
Photos by Richard Koch
Every year in early September, something extraordinary happens at the YMCA Camp Burgess on Cape Cod. That’s when a group of kids with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) descend on the campground for the Keeping the Beat Retreat, a weekend filled with games, outdoor activities, dancing, singing and bonding. This year, I was lucky enough to get to join in on their fun as a volunteer counselor.
The weekend began with hugs, high-fives and screams of excitement as the kids piled off the bus and connected with old friends and former counselors. As a first-timer, I was clearly i...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 17, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Ellen Greenlaw Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Amy Walsh Dr. Doug Mah Dr. Laura Bevilacqua ICDs implantable cardioverter defibrillators Keeping the Beat Retreat pacemaker Source Type: news
Enjoying life, finally free of seizures
Kristen Grip stood in the middle of the basketball court, motionless. Around her, the action continued as usual — the smack of the ball on the polished wood floor, the rush of her teammates as they darted back and forth, the satisfying swish and shout of victory as someone made a basket. Yet the high school freshman stared vacantly into space, her only movement a small tap of her fingers together.
Later, after the coach had blown a whistle and halted the game, Kristen learned that it had happened again: she’d had another seizure. Embarrassed and frustrated, she bid her friends farewell and headed to the school nurse’...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 16, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Annapurna Poduri epilepsy epilepsy center seizures Source Type: news
4 trends in epilepsy research and care
Despite the fact that epilepsy is the third most common brain disorder — affecting an estimated one percent of children — there’s still much we don’t know about this condition. In fact, in about 75 percent of cases, epilepsy has no known cause. Research is crucial to help physicians learn more about the roots of epilepsy in children and develop potential treatments for it.
“One third of our patients have treatment-refractory epilepsy. Unless we try to discover what causes an individual’s epilepsy, we can not take a personalized or precision approach to treatment. Parents should know that we’re not just accept...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 11, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Jessica Cerretani Tags: Diseases & Conditions Dr. Annapurna Poduri epilepsy epilepsy center seizures Source Type: news
One year later: Abbey D ’Agostino reflects on her Olympic moment
It’s August during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Abbey D’Agostino is a runner in the 5,000-meter preliminary heat. She smiles and waves at the camera as it pans in front of the participants at their starting blocks — a positive, self-assured smile that stands out amongst the competitive grimaces around her. In this moment, she is where all track and field athletes aspire to be — at the pinnacle of their sport in an Olympic stadium.
From injured to inspired
With about a mile to go in the event, Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand is running in front of D’Agostino when she stumbles and falls. Abbey ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 10, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Connor Ertz Tags: Our Patients’ Stories ACL injury ACL injury prevention ACL surgery Dr. Mininder Kocher Sports Medicine Division Source Type: news
Teens and opioids: Time for an open conversation
National surveys have found that teens today are much less likely to use alcohol and drugs compared to their parents’ generation. In fact, the proportion of high school seniors who chose not to use alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs has increased from 3 percent to 25 percent in the last thirty years. This remarkable good news is overshadowed by the growing number of teens who are daily marijuana users and the recent increase in opioid-related deaths among young people. It is important to understand the roots of this discrepancy in order to address it.
Statistics show that between 2014 and 2015, the rates of drug ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - October 9, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Nicholas Chadi Tags: Ask the Expert Parenting Teen Health Adolescent Substance Abuse Program Source Type: news
