When Kristina Spencer joined the Seattle Children’s Hospital Protection Program team as its senior administrative assistant last summer, she took on another, unofficial role: director of duffels. The duffels in question – dozens of brightly colored, kid-sized bags stashed around the Protection Program’s offices – had been purchased with grant money and were phase one of […]
On May 1, Dr. Tom Hansen will step down as Seattle Children’s CEO after 10 years of service. During his leadership, Hansen was known as a visionary with big ideas – big ideas that helped us become one of the best children’s hospitals in the world while getting us closer than ever to achieving our […]
Sage Taylor was born with a severe malformation in the right hemisphere of her brain – a condition that caused her to have hundreds of tiny “micro” seizures every day. Here, mom Sam Rosen reflects on their leap of faith with a neurosurgeon at Seattle Children’s and how Sage’s life took a dramatic turn for […]
This story was originally featured in Seattle Children’s Hospital 2014 Academic Annual Report. The report provides a look into the top clinical and research accomplishments that took place at Seattle Children’s in 2014. Appendicitis is one of the most common reasons children need surgery, yet diagnosis and treatment approaches vary greatly among hospitals and caregivers […]
The language of medicine is full of complicated words and acronyms. For parents of children with serious heart conditions like congenital heart disease or pulmonary hypertension, one such acronymn that may incite fear or worry is hearing that their child may need a device called a VAD (Ventricular Assist Device). However, these devices, combined with […]
Whether it’s a parent’s first or fourth child, pregnancy can be filled with equal parts excitement and anxiety. Expectant parents can opt for their doctors to perform a variety of prenatal tests to screen for genetic abnormalities or birth defects while the baby is still developing. If these screening tests come back positive, parents are […]
Kami Sutton, 26, who you met last week, has been waiting for a heart transplant for five years. But surgeons at Seattle Children’s and University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) are now preparing to perform a difficult surgery that could greatly improve her quality of life and may even eliminate her need for a transplant. […]
In honor of Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness Week, 26-year-old Kami Sutton wanted to share her journey that began at Seattle Children’s the day she was born. Seattle Children’s is my home. From the previously trademark blue bubble letters, the giraffes (which were recently replaced in the remodel), trains and Mickey Mouse – it is […]
The first thing Dr. Michael Cunningham noticed was the crowding. Hundreds of African mothers and their young children, pressed shoulder to shoulder in a time-worn hospital’s hallway, waiting patiently for hours — if not days — to receive cleft lip and palate care for their child. It was then when he fully understood the importance […]
Children who need a heart transplant face a frightening waiting game before a donor heart becomes available. They must live with a failing heart for months, or even years, as clinicians strive to keep them healthy enough for transplant. Nationally, these patients face the highest waiting list mortality in solid-organ transplantation medicine, with 17% of children […]
