April Merrill is a 6-year-old who loves to sing and dance. Yet, her struggle with an anxiety disorder called selective mutism hinders her ability to do the activities that showcase her vibrant and joyful personality.
“Her voice disappears, as April describes it,” said Kelly Merrill, April’s mother. “She said that she wants to talk but can’t seem to find her voice.”
As April was growing up, Merrill noticed signs in her daughter that indicated something might be wrong.
“When April started to talk, she could only verbalize 20 or so words,” said Merrill. “She was 2 years old at the time and I noticed she couldn’t expand her vocabulary.”
Gene therapy holds promise of a potentially safer, more effective path to a cure in infants born without the critical infection-fighting cells of the immune system.
Out of every 60,000 births, a baby arrives to face the world without a fully functioning immune system leaving them unequipped to fight even the most common infections. Children with this rare life-threatening genetic condition, known as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), have the best chance at a healthy future if they undergo a stem cell transplant before they are 3 ½ months old.
Seattle Children’s recently opened a clinical trial that is seeking a potentially safer, less aggressive and equally effective path to a cure by using a novel gene therapy to fix the faulty gene that causes the most common type of SCID.
On the Pulse met with the trial’s principal investigator, Dr. Aleksandra Petrovic, a pediatric transplant specialist and researcher at Seattle Children’s Research Institute’s Center for Immunity and Immunotherapies, to learn more about the experimental therapy available through this trial. Read full post »
In honor of National Dog Day, On the Pulse is recognizing three unique four-legged visitors who bring joy to kids at Seattle Children’s.
When a child is in need of some cheering up during a hospital stay, Seattle Children’s knows just the right MVP for the task – Most Valuable Pup that is. With their wiggling tails, wet noses and oozing charm, each of the nine volunteer therapy dogs in Seattle Children’s Animal-Assisted Activities Program harnesses their unique strengths and abilities to bring a smile to every patient they meet.
In 2009, during Laurina Barker’s 20-week ultrasound, she and her husband Ryan received news that no expecting parents want to hear.
“The technician turned to me and said something looked different and that they would have my doctor call me,” said Barker.
A couple of days later, the Barkers would learn their baby had congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a rare birth defect where a baby’s diaphragm does not form completely. This leaves a hole between the abdomen and chest allowing their organs, most often their intestines and liver, to slip through the hole and up into the chest.
“After his name was called and we sat in the exam room, all he wanted to do was sit in my lap and not acknowledge anyone that came in to talk to us,” said his mother, Lisa Hansen. “Sho is shy and tends to get nervous around people he doesn’t know well.”
One of the staff members in line to help prepare Sho for his surgery was a nurse anesthetist named Anisa Manion.
“My role at the clinic is to administer anesthesia to patients to help them fall asleep before going into surgery,” said Manion. “We’re given a short period of time to get kids as comfortable as possible. The process can be very challenging — many kids are anxious and nervous, so the friendlier we make the environment for them, the easier it is for them.”
Manion has a special trick up her sleeve when it comes to calming kids down during the pre-surgery process.
Rapid exome sequencing (rES), a blood test that can quickly detect genetic abnormalities, is helping obtain timely genetic diagnoses for critically ill children at Seattle Children’s.
A newborn boy was admitted to Seattle Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) earlier this year with arthrogryposis — a condition where an infant cannot move, their joints becoming frozen in place. When geneticist Dr. Jimmy Bennett met the infant, he was on a respirator and could only move his eyes.
“We didn’t know the cause of the arthrogryposis and could not tell the parents much about their son’s prognosis — whether he would ever come off the ventilator or if he would be intellectually disabled,” Bennett said. “With so little information, it was difficult to decide how to proceed.”
This family had a previous pregnancy that was similarly affected. Bennett believed the cause might be genetic and recommended rapid exome sequencing (rES) — a blood test that can quickly detect genetic abnormalities.
Less than a week later, the test identified a specific condition that led providers to administer an appropriate therapy. Before long, the child was moving.
“Never in a million years would we have tried this therapy without the genetic test results,” Bennett said. “Two weeks later, the patient was off the ventilator and moving all four limbs. It was like a miracle.” Read full post »
Through Seattle Children’s Celiac Disease Program, twin sisters Claire and Emma learned how to adopt a new gluten-free diet in to their active, athletic lifestyle.
Claire and Emma Brennan are 13-year-olds who are always on-the-run.
Whether it’s sprinting across the basketball court or flying to their next volleyball tournament halfway across the country, these twin sisters stop at nothing to achieve athletic excellence.
“Claire and Emma have sports practice almost every day of the week,” said their mother, Cathy Brennan. “We’re always on-the-go, so I have to make sure they have easy access to snacks they can eat to keep energized.”
The active teens burn calories at a rapid pace given their hours of intensive sports practice, and so a balanced diet is key to performing at their best.
However, food prep takes some careful planning in the Brennan household as both girls are on a strict gluten-free diet to manage celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that they were diagnosed with in September 2017.
Hannah Mae Campbell, 6, received a lifesaving heart transplant at 4 months old. She recently donated her birthday presents to Seattle Children’s.
Last month, 6-year-old Hannah Mae Campbell wanted to invite her entire kindergarten class to her birthday party. However, Hannah decided that she couldn’t possibly keep all of the gifts herself; rather she told her mother that she wanted to give them to kids at Seattle Children’s.
She said she wanted to give kids something to play with that would help them “have fun” and “feel happy,” since being at the hospital can sometimes be sad. Surpassing her original goal of donating 20 gifts, Hannah and her family delivered 139 toys and books to the hospital. The activities included Lego sets, Play-Doh, My Little Pony, Hot Wheels, puzzles, coloring books, dolls, superheroes and stuffed animals.
“Everyone says she’s such an old soul who is always wanting to help others,” said Jennifer Campbell, Hannah’s mother. “A lot of it may have to do with growing up a little quicker in a hospital. Hannah has experienced things like blood transfusions and surgery that a lot of kids have never had to go through.”
There is a tremendous need for improved access to mental health care and resources for children and teens nationwide.
At Seattle Children’s, its commitment to helping address this need spans not only within the Seattle community, but throughout the region.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 children have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, such as anxiety or depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, disruptive behavior disorder, and Tourette syndrome.
While early intervention is key in managing mental health issues, only about 20% of children with disorders receive care from a specialized mental health care provider.
That’s why Seattle Children’s is continuously working to enhance access to mental health services, promote education and research, and advocate for families affected by mental illness.
The following describes three of the many innovative programs and initiatives that Seattle Children’s offers to help improve mental health care for all children.
Brendan Bittinger, 9, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using a team evaluation model developed at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center.
Some say ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ At Seattle Children’s Autism Center, this concept came to life to a certain degree through the development of a collaborative method for diagnosing autism in children that aimed to improve the diagnostic process and increase efficiency, with the potential of leading to better patient outcomes.
Linda Bittinger’s 9-year-old son Brendan found his ‘village’ at the Autism Center in June 2017 when a team made up of providers from different disciplines came together for a thoughtful diagnostic evaluation that would shape his treatment path to progress.
“When we received his diagnosis, I felt a sense of optimism,” said Bittinger. “I had less worries knowing there were opportunities for treatment. And since then, he’s made tremendous strides.”
April Merrill is a 6-year-old who loves to sing and dance. Yet, her struggle with an anxiety disorder called selective mutism hinders her ability to do the activities that showcase her vibrant and joyful personality.
When 4-year-old Sho Hansen entered the doors of 
There is a tremendous need for improved access to mental health care and resources for children and teens nationwide.
