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 […]
It can be hard enough to remember to take a multivitamin every day; imagine having to take 20 pills at specific times throughout the day, every day, for your whole life. That’s the reality individuals who have undergone an organ transplant must face. In order to stay healthy and to keep their bodies from rejecting […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Pac-12 Football Championship Game featuring the Oregon Ducks and the Arizona Wildcats was more than just a football game to 18-year-old Sarah Roundtree, a freshman at the University of Oregon. It was the chance of a lifetime: a shot to win a $100,000 scholarship. The only catch to winning, she had to compete against […]
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 […]
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 […]