Authors: Madison Joseph
In 2022, high school student Rakshith “Rocky” Srinivasan was working on research on how amino acids help with muscle mobility.
He was mentored by Dr. Burt Yaszay, the Chief of the division of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s, who helped Rocky understand the science behind muscle mobility.
In these sessions, Dr. Yaszay discussed his own research in orthopedics and sports medicine at Seattle Children’s, which inspired Rakshith to raise funds for those programs.
Since then, Rakshith and his nonprofit, Unlimited Potential (UP) have raised more than $10,000 for Dr. Yaszay’s program and research.
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Harper is giving back to Seattle Children’s by collecting bright, fun hospital gowns for patients
Angie Foy and her daughter Harper of Edmonds are excited to give back to Seattle Children’s with a fundraiser called “Gift a Brave Gown to a Brave Kid.”
Harper was born with a rare genetic disorder called harlequin ichthyosis, which causes the skin to form in hard diamond-shaped plaques on the body. The plaques become dry and flake off, and the intensely dry, tight skin causes severe discomfort for Harper.
She spent almost three months at Seattle Children’s as a newborn undergoing various surgeries to restore circulation to her hands, legs and feet.
“They became family to us,” explained Foy of Harper’s care team at Seattle Children’s. “They saved her life and watched over her for me when I couldn’t be there.”
When she and Harper heard about Brave Gowns, they knew right away they wanted to help too.
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Authors: Colleen Steelquist
It’s been 12 years, but Brandy Epling still chokes up at the traumatic memory of her firstborn’s birth.
It was a difficult pregnancy, with preterm labor forcing a 33-day stay at a southwest Washington hospital for the mom-to-be, followed by months of bedrest. Ultrasounds revealed the baby’s brain was a bit bigger on the left side, but the local fetal medicine doctor wasn’t overly concerned.
Induced at 38 weeks, Brandy labored for 22 hours until Emree finally emerged.
“It was probably the scariest moment of my life,” Brandy said. “When she came out, her head was grossly swollen. There was this ring of fluid around her head. Her left eye was completely enlarged and she was not breathing normally.”
It took hours to stabilize the critically ill infant, who also had fluid around her heart.
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Authors: Ashley Speller
At the Cure FactoryTM in Seattle Children’s Building CureTM, cell products for patients enrolled in clinical trials are manufactured on-site in downtown Seattle
Seattle Children’s, an international leader in the effort to better treat cancer in children, teens and young adults by boosting the immune system with immunotherapy, has reached a new milestone by enrolling its 500th patient in its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy clinical trials in 10 years.
T cells play a key role in fighting pathogens and regulating the immune system. Through a potentially game-changing experimental treatment called cancer immunotherapy, a patient’s own T cells are “reprogrammed” into CAR T cells that can hunt down and destroy cancer cells wherever they are hiding in the body.
Support from more than 24,000 donors in all 50 states and across 17 other countries has raised more than $123 million to date to move this research forward. Historically, only 4% of the federal cancer research budget was allocated to pediatric cancer. In 2021, advocacy efforts helped increase that percentage to 8%, but there is a significant need for additional funding and philanthropy in pediatric cancer research to help scientists advance this important work and open new trials sooner.
On the Pulse looks back at the remarkable stories of Seattle Children’s patients who fought and beat cancer over the last decade, and shares where they are today.
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Seattle Children’s patients and families were surprised when some exciting visitors stopped by from University of Washington (UW) Athletics.
The 17 women on the UW Softball team each brought a pair of white cleats to be designed by a patient, and the team will wear their custom cleats during the televised Cal series on the Pac -12 network April 6 – 8, 2023.
Additionally, the UW Football team stopped by with footballs for our patients to decorate.
Seattle Children’s is grateful for UW Athletics bringing smiles and creativity to our patients, and we are excited to cheer them on throughout their seasons.
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Authors: Casey Egan
When Jiana was born in August 2021, she appeared to be a typical, healthy newborn baby.
“I still remember her pediatrician called her a textbook baby,” recalled Latika, Jiana’s mom.
Unfortunately, that normalcy was short lived. On her first day home from the hospital, Jiana’s parents noticed their daughter was twitching.
“We were first-time parents and thought it was colic or gas,” said Kunal, Jiana’s dad. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
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Authors: Madison Joseph
Seattle Children’s Therapeutic Gaming Program brings the power of video games, virtual reality and other therapeutic technology to enhance patient experiences and improve outcomes.
The program uses a variety of video games, consoles and technologies to help patients cope with the stress and boredom of hospitalization, as well as to provide opportunities for socialization, education and rehabilitation.
Since its inception in 2018, thanks to grant funding from Child’s Play Charity, the program has become a leader in the field of therapeutic gaming.
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Authors: Ashley Speller
When Jen Campbell watches 10-year-old Hannah step on the soccer field, she’s filled with immense pride.
“I’m very blessed to have kids who want to play sports because that’s an outlet for them,” she explained. “Not only an outlet physically, but also emotionally and socially.”
The busy mom of four not only shuffles practice, tournaments and school, but also medical appointments at Seattle Children’s North Clinic in Everett, Wash., a regional clinic with pediatric specialists in more than 25 practice areas that provides care for families closer to home.
When Campbell’s daughter Hannah was born, she was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, a problem stemming from the heart’s electrical activity which causes an irregular heart rhythm, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscle.
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Authors: Madison Joseph
In July 2021, Kaelyn, a seemingly healthy, happy 10-month-old, woke up one morning with a puffy face. Her parents, Christine and Jerome, assumed she was having an allergic reaction. They took her to the nearest hospital in their hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii, where she underwent various tests to determine the cause.
In the hospital, Kaelyn’s condition deteriorated, and she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where Christine and Jerome learned their daughter’s heart function was severely diminished and she had little chance of survival without major intervention.
Kaelyn was born with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy – a condition in which the lower left heart chamber doesn’t develop properly – that went undetected throughout pregnancy and her first 10 months of life.
Kaelyn was placed on life support for five days before she was transferred to Seattle Children’s. Christine and Jerome left their jobs in Honolulu behind and flew to Seattle with just one suitcase each, having no idea how long they would stay.
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Authors: Guest Contributor
Emme, a Seattle Children’s Eating Disorders Recovery Program patient, shares her “lifelong journey” to recovery
Seattle Children’s Eating Disorders Recovery Program diagnoses and treats children and teens with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and other eating disorders.
In this edition of On the Pulse, 19-year-old Emme shares her personal experience at Seattle Children’s – from diagnosis to ongoing recovery, and the lessons learned along the way.
Content warning: The following article describes a patient’s journey with an eating disorder and may be difficult for some to read.
We encourage readers to prioritize their own mental and emotional needs in reading this story. Resources have been provided following the article.
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