Sitting unassumingly on the exam table, Jay’s feet dangle above the floor and his hands are folded in his lap. He displays a warm smile when asked how he’s doing. His mother, Cynthia, looks at her son with an overt sense of pride and the type of love that needs no words to express its […]
By the time Alexis Stringer was 7 years-old, she had already undergone a lifetime’s worth of medical procedures; 47 of them to be precise. Alexis was born with purple areas on her face and neck. At first, doctors thought it was due to birth trauma. But over time, when Alexis was 7 weeks old, doctors […]
My name is Makenna Schwab and I’m 14 years old. Over the course of my life, I have been treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital where an amazing team of doctors have performed over 15 life-changing and life-saving surgeries for me. I was born with a rare connective tissue disorder called Larsen syndrome, which causes dislocations […]
Adorned in pastel blue smocks with smiles from ear-to-ear, it can be easy to spot a Seattle Children’s volunteer. From the volunteers that do arts and crafts with patients in the playroom to those who deliver key items to patient rooms and refill coffee pots for medical staff, every volunteer at Seattle Children’s is significant […]
My daughter pushes my hand away abruptly and the spoonful of food goes flying. I turn to her twin to coax her to eat a spoonful of puréed lentil soup, and she promptly gags on the tiniest lump and spits it out. Typical case of the terrible twos? No, they are 3 and a half, […]
In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, On the Pulse shares a heart-wrenching story about a mother whose son suffered debilitating injuries at the hands of a babysitter. Through the pain and daily struggle of caring for a fully disabled child, she has become a driving force for advocacy and awareness for child abuse […]
Days filled with pain, followed by restless nights, are more than nightmare scenarios for adolescents with chronic pain. Approximately half of all adolescents who suffer from chronic pain also have insomnia, a disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and experiencing poor quality sleep. While there is ample research studying effective methods to treat […]
Growing up, 19-year-old Wade Washington knew he’d one day need a kidney transplant. The question was never if, but when. “I never really knew what normal was,” said Washington. “I was born with chronic kidney disease, and so it was what I was used to.” As a child, Washington’s condition was manageable, but as he […]
Patients at Seattle Children’s are benefiting from yet another fundraising project from 14-year-old Makenna Schwab, whose fearless determination in raising thousands of dollars has allowed the hospital to purchase a special X-ray machine to help treat other kids like her. To celebrate Makenna’s latest fundraising project, which collected $25,000 for the purchase of a 3D […]
A year ago, On the Pulse shared the harrowing story of 8-month-old Lincoln Seay. Lincoln was born with heterotaxy syndrome, a severe birth defect that caused his heart to develop on the opposite side of his body. In order to survive, he needed a heart transplant. In November of last year, Lincoln was placed on […]
