In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we will be sharing a series of stories about some of our incredible patients who have overcome cancer or are currently fighting the disease. In the beginning of June 2012, Jake Steiner was on top of the world. At age 18, he had just graduated high school and […]
Montana teen becomes first patient at Seattle Children’s to receive the HeartMate II ventricular assist device (VAD) and a heart transplant while being supported with an implantable VAD. He is also the first patient at any pediatric hospital in the Pacific Northwest to leave the hospital with a VAD while waiting for a heart transplant. Adam Kingsbury went […]
The new technique was recently published in the journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, “Normalizing Facial Ratios in Apert Syndrome Patients with Lefort II Midface Distraction and Simultaneous Zygomatic Repositioning.” Apert syndrome is a rare condition that occurs in one of 45,000 to 160,000 live births. For the children it affects, it’s very complex and […]
This week medical experts from across the country will gather in Seattle to discuss “Cases That Keep Us Awake at Night,” the theme of the 2013 Pediatric Bioethics conference. It’s not uncommon for things to keep us awake at night—a disagreement with a friend or neighbor or anxiety over a big work assignment—but the issues […]
On July 13, 2012, Robin Ulness was diagnosed with leukemia at just 9 months old. Gayle Garson, Robin’s mother, said the diagnosis was a complete surprise and it all came on very quick. “Getting the news was devastating,” Gayle said. “It was like getting kicked in the stomach by a horse. It was so surreal; […]
On the Pulse recently posted a story on bioethics and research from Ben Wilfond, MD. In that story, Wilfond defended a research study that had been criticized by federal officials over the informed-consent requirements. We thought it would be helpful to follow up with tips for parents who are interested in or have children enrolled […]
You can’t blame Patient #1 for not wanting to share his name; he’d rather not be known as the guy who swallowed poop in the name of science. But he does want you to know he is willing to go to extremes to help find a cure for Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes […]
In a northern California suburb in 1999, Kaitlin Burns was born very sick, that much was certain. She was extremely lethargic, vomited non-stop and soon wouldn’t eat anything. When her family finally received a diagnosis two weeks after her birth, the news was devastating. Kaitlin was diagnosed with propionic acidemia, a rare, inherited metabolic disorder that affects […]
Friday, July 13, 2012 was the day 9-year-old Travis Anderson drowned in the Pilchuck River near Snohomish, Wash. It was also the day that his mother, Kim, and the emergency team at Seattle Children’s saved his life. Travis, a wiry redhead, was wading in a shallow portion of the river, near his mom, his brother […]
Dana Lockwood, 24, has had epilepsy, a disorder of the brain that involves repeated seizures, for as long as he can remember. Seizures were just a way of life and the frequency ranged from having one every one to two weeks, to having several throughout a week, all while on several medications. Dana most commonly […]