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: 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: Casey Egan
Dr. Samuel Browd, surgical director and neurosurgeon for the Cerebral Palsy and Tone Management Programs at Seattle Children’s
March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Cerebral palsy is a condition that causes differences in how someone moves and controls their muscles. The differences are caused by an injury to a child’s developing brain. The brain injury can happen before, during or after birth. The injury does not change (it is non-progressive), but the effects can change over time and worsen as children grow. The condition affects a child’s strength, muscle tone and motor control.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability of childhood and approximately 1 in 345 children have been identified with the disorder.
The Cerebral Palsy Program at Seattle Children’s features a team of providers, surgeons and therapists with expertise and experience treating children, teens and young adults with cerebral palsy.
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Authors: Ashley Speller
4-year-old Stella Allison underwent a kidney transplant in early 2022 at Seattle Children’s
“She has so much more energy and is eating so much more. She is also moving and walking more than she ever did.”
Four-year-old Stella Allison has always loved telling jokes and playing dress up.
With energy that is contagious and a smile that lights up a room, her mom Kyley Barthlow says Stella has grown into a high-spirited and chatty child – but was born a real fighter.
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Authors: Kathryn Mueller
A few weeks after Ryder Gordon’s first surgery at Seattle Children’s, Thomas Gordon went to the tattoo shop and got an exact replica of his son’s scar on his neck and chest.
When Ryder Gordon was 2 years old, he underwent his first surgery. It took 12 hours and saved his life.
Thomas Gordon and his wife, Magi, vividly remember the day they handed over their son to surgeons at Seattle Children’s.
“It was gut-wrenching,” said Magi. “You want more than anything to switch places with your child.”
Ryder was the couple’s first child and they never imagined being thrust into a world of comprehensive medical care. But there they were, among the bright lights of the surgical suites and the bustling halls of the hospital.
“Going through a medical journey really humbles you,” added Magi. “Being at Seattle Children’s brought us a sense of comfort. I felt like they cared about us, not just as patients, but as people.”
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Authors: Madison Joseph
New “Forest B” Building Features More In-Patient and Operating Rooms, Cancer and Blood Disorders Care Facilities and more
On June 1st, Seattle Children’s opens the latest addition to the hospital campus — a building called “Forest B.” Forest B is a project over 10 years in the making and will add an additional 310,000 square feet of space to the hospital campus.
“Forest B is a critical addition to Seattle Children’s, given our region’s incredible historic and anticipated growth,” said Mandy Hansen, senior director of planning, design, and construction at Seattle Children’s. “The building gives our care teams the space they need to provide lifesaving and life-changing treatments, surgeries and procedures to even more patients in the coming years. The thoughtful design will also help us integrate more of our breakthrough research into the clinical care environment as we tirelessly work toward cures.” Read full post »
Authors: Bob Sable and Casey Egan
April marks National Donate Life Month, a time devoted to spreading awareness about the tremendous need for increasing the number of organ, eye and tissue donors. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 100,000 people in the U.S. need a lifesaving organ.
One organ and tissue donor can save or enhance more than 75 lives. Anyone can be a potential donor. Registering with the national registry and sharing your decision with your family ensures that your wishes are carried out. You can also be a living donor by choosing to give an organ or part of an organ to someone in need through organ donation.
Seattle Children’s has one of the best and busiest pediatric transplant centers in the nation, working across a six-state region to provide lifesaving organ transplants for patients. Seattle Children’s Transplant Center is one of the few in the world that performs living donor liver transplants, is one of the top five kidney transplant centers in the U.S. and also has some of the best survival outcomes in the nation for pediatric liver, kidney and heart transplants.
Dr. André Dick, senior vice president and surgeon-in-chief, who also serves as surgical director of the pediatric kidney transplant program, took time this month to talk about his journey to where he is now, what he does in his role at Seattle Children’s, and his priorities for the years ahead. Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
The Hurtados enrolled their children in the Studies in Pediatric Liver Transplant (SPLIT) database which follows children who receive a liver transplant in the U.S. or Canada. They hope researchers will use this information to help other families like theirs.
Having one child in need of a liver transplant can be tremendously challenging for a parent. Eugenia and Justino Hurtado have four.
All four of the Hurtado children were born with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) — a rare genetic metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to break down certain parts of proteins due to an enzyme deficiency. The disease can lead to a buildup of toxic substances that cause organ and brain damage.
Adolescents and adults with MSUD are also at risk for attention deficit disorder, anxiety and depression. Infections, stress, surgeries and injuries can lead to neurological damage at any age.
People with MSUD get most of their nutrients from a prescribed liquid formula. They can eat some low-calorie foods but must be very careful. If they stray from the diet, they can experience muscle spasms, breathing failure, intellectual and developmental disabilities or even coma. Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)
Today, Dawson is a well-nourished and thriving 9-month-old who eats all his meals and takes all his medications by mouth. If he hadn’t participated on Children’s hunger-based tube weaning process, he might have been dependent on a feeding tube for a much longer time.
When a pregnant Heather Henson learned her baby, Dawson, had hypoplastic left heart syndrome — a rare and serious condition where the left side of the heart is not fully developed — she immediately began researching the disease and the hospitals that treat it.
Heather and her family live in Anchorage, Alaska. The state doesn’t have a pediatric hospital equipped to perform the heart surgeries Dawson would need to survive, so she had to give birth somewhere else.
During her research, Heather found an HLHS Facebook group where other parents shared their experiences with the disease. Stories of successful surgeries and thriving babies gave her hope, but she worried when she saw many children who relied on feeding tubes after their surgeries.
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Authors: Seattle Children's Press Team
Photo courtesy of Four Oaks Photography.
On January 30, 2019, Nia Mauesby was born. To celebrate her arrival, the setting sun illuminated the Seattle skyline with bright hues of red, orange and yellow. It was one of the most dazzling and memorable sunsets of the year. As quickly as the setting sun dipped over the horizon, the winds began to shift, and the foreboding weather foreshadowed the turbulent journey that lay ahead.
“When my water broke, we had no idea what we were in for,” Reem Mauesby said.
Mauesby and her husband, Timothy, were elated for their daughter’s arrival, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Stricken with the flu, Mauesby wasn’t able to see her baby girl for 24 hours after giving birth. When Nia was finally was placed on her chest, she felt a heavy sense of relief, but that feeling would soon be stripped away. Read full post »
