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 of his goals in Africa and how much work lay ahead.
Cunningham, who is medical director of Seattle Children’s Craniofacial Center, and the Center’s surgical director Dr. Richard Hopper, had traveled to Africa as part of a specialized cleft training program they co-founded in 2007 now called Partners in African Cleft Training (PACT). Read full post »
Julie Kobayashi, 12, traveled from Hawaii to Seattle Children’s for her heart transplant.
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 dying while waiting for a heart transplant.
Thankfully, Seattle Children’s has one of the best waitlist mortality rates among pediatric heart transplant centers, as reported to the United Network of Organ Sharing. The hospital also treats some of the region’s most complex, advanced heart disease and heart transplant cases and has one of the highest 3-year patient survival rates in the country.
“We are proud to be ranked among the best pediatric heart transplant centers in the country,” said Dr. Yuk Law, medical director of the Cardiac Transplant/Heart Failure Service at Seattle Children’s. “We have created a team of skilled experts who have dedicated their careers to treating heart failure and transplant cases.” Read full post »
Dr. Sandra “Sunny” Juul recently became the new Division Chief of Neonatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington, taking the helm from Dr. Christine Gleason, who stepped down to pursue other professional goals. Below, Juul talks about her vision for her own research and for the Division of Neonatology at Seattle Children’s.
Dr. Sandra “Sunny” Juul, the new Division Chief of Neonatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital
Neonatology is a relatively new field of medical practice, having come into its own in the 1960s. At that time, survival for extremely premature babies and many of those with congenital disorders was low. Through experience and research, infants who were previously destined to die now survive, yet their outcomes are frequently burdened by significant neurodevelopmental challenges.
As a neonatologist, I am honored to participate in the care of precious, fragile individuals ranging from extremely preterm infants to term neonates with complex medical or surgical problems. These small patients and their families humble me with their endurance in the face of great adversity.
I believe that our current mandate as neonatologists is to ensure that survivors of these previously fatal conditions can lead fully functional lives without impairment. In order to accomplish these audacious goals, we have committed, as a division, to improve neonatal outcomes by providing outstanding evidence-based neonatal clinical care, moving our field forward by conducting research, and by educating the next generation of neonatal caregivers. Read full post »
Jennifer Bevaart’s son William was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in September, 2014.
In honor of National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day, we are sharing the story of William, a 10-year-old boy who lives with the disease, and why Seattle Children’s, an international leader in Kawasaki disease research, is the best place for children like William to receive treatment.
In September, Jennifer Bevaart’s son William developed a fever that lasted for days. He was lethargic, had a rash on his chest and his eyes were bloodshot. Over the next two weeks, Bevaart took William to at least four different specialists, each of whom suggested a different diagnosis: a sinus infection, walking pneumonia, bronchitis, even scarlet fever. Each treatment failed to ease William’s symptoms. He went from an active, tae kwon do enthusiast to a weak boy who was too weak to walk even the short distance to the mailbox without lying down to rest.
“Call it mother’s intuition, but I just knew something was very wrong with my son,” Bevaart said. “I felt like I was watching him die.” Read full post »
Last April, at the age of 12, Lydia Vaughan felt hungry for the first time.
The new sensation – along with support from her family and a team of specialists at Seattle Children’s – helped her learn to do in two weeks what she had never done before: put food in her mouth and swallow it. Read full post »
Jaime Ralston-Wilson (left) and Elizabeth (Liz) Artola
When Gailon Wixson Pursley came to Seattle Children’s, she was in so much pain she couldn’t walk. At 19 years old, Gailon was diagnosed with sarcoma, an aggressive cancerous tumor in her hip flexor muscle.
Gailon’s treatment plan included surgery to remove the large tumor, radiation and chemotherapy, along with a long list of medications to help manage the side effects of her diagnosis and treatments.
Gailon’s mom, Yvette Wixson, asked whether another treatment was available for her daughter: acupuncture. To Yvette’s delight, the answer was yes.
Seattle Children’s inpatient acupuncture program began as a six-month pilot in January 2014. During the pilot, acupuncturists were available four hours a day, five days a week. Before the pilot, acupuncture was available to outpatients, but only on a sporadic, ad-hoc basis for inpatients. Read full post »
As we head into the New Year, we’d like to reflect on some of the incredible clinical advancements of 2014 that show how our doctors have gone the extra mile for our patients.
In the Children’s HealthLink Special video above, watch how futuristic medicine has saved the lives of the littlest patients at Seattle Children’s. From 3D-printed heart models to liquid ventilation, doctors and families reveal the amazing benefits of innovative treatments that challenge the status quo. Read full post »
In honor of the New Year, we’re taking a look back at some of our most popular and memorable blog posts from 2014. Below is a list of our top 10 posts. Here’s to another great year of health news to come. Happy New Year!
Two doctors at Seattle Children’s went the extra mile to save Tatiana, one of the sickest babies they’ve ever seen. They got FDA approval to use a long-forgotten drug and are now inspired to help make this drug available to save more lives.
AJ Hwangbo was a happy-go-lucky 6-year-old without a worry in the world until mid-November when he developed a life-threatening heart condition. While specialists at Seattle Children’s Hospital helped AJ heal physically, the young boy struggled to bounce back emotionally. But, AJ’s joyful spirit returned after hospital staff arranged for him to meet his hero – local artist Macklemore. Read full post »
Sutton Piper, 3, was born with a metabolic disorder that made his muscles too weak for crawling, walking and talking. After being referred to Dr. Sihoun Hahn, a biochemical geneticist at Seattle Children’s, Sutton is bouncing on his mini-trampoline and chatting up a storm.
Sutton Piper came into the world on his own terms: nine days late.
At 6 months, he’d made little attempt at rolling over; at 9 months, he showed no interest in sitting up on his own; and, by his first birthday, he wasn’t even trying to crawl. Read full post »
Elise Pele had been in labor for hours awaiting the arrival of her baby girl, Tatiana, on the evening of Aug. 29. Elise remembers wanting desperately to hear her baby cry – a sign that everything was ok. But that cry never came. She saw Tatiana for only a few seconds before nurses rushed her to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a local hospital.
“I instantly knew something wasn’t right and I was terrified,” Elise said. “The doctors told me my baby wasn’t breathing right and had to be transferred to Seattle Children’s.”
Tatiana experienced meconium aspiration syndrome where she inhaled a mixture of meconium (stool) and amniotic fluid during labor due to stress, which obstructed and irritated her airways, leading her down a path where doctors thought she would likely die. Read full post »
In honor of the New Year, we’re taking a look back at some of our most popular and memorable blog posts from 2014. Below is a list of our top 10 posts. Here’s to another great year of health news to come. Happy New Year!
Elise Pele had been in labor for hours awaiting the arrival of her baby girl, Tatiana, on the evening of Aug. 29. Elise remembers wanting desperately to hear her baby cry – a sign that everything was ok. But that cry never came. She saw Tatiana for only a few seconds before nurses rushed her to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a local hospital.
