Every Tuesday and Friday, like clockwork, you’ll find volunteer Kien Luu at Seattle Children’s – either greeting visitors in the volunteer office with a warm, friendly smile, or making children laugh and play in the outpatient sibling playroom, helping them to forget for a moment where they are. But what many may not know is […]
On the Pulse
The American Academy of Pediatrics announced it is revising recommended screen time guidelines for kids. Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, offers parents advice on how to manage screen time and what to consider when shopping for children this holiday season. Q: What […]
Studying abroad is a formative educational opportunity for many young adults, myself included. My time in French Polynesia last summer as a junior in college changed my outlook on the world and made me a better student, friend and daughter. But I also know from experience that studying abroad can also be problematic for some […]
Each year in the United States alone, 20,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized due to complications from the flu. In 2014, influenza claimed the lives of more than 140 children; half of whom were healthy and had not been vaccinated. “It’s important for everyone – especially children – to get a flu shot […]
Like many kids, 6-year-old Alexis has big dreams. But while some kids dream about defying gravity as an astronaut, or being the star ballerina in the Nutcracker, Alexis dreams of helping other kids like her and raising awareness of pediatric cancer by sharing her story. And for Alexis, there is no better way to reach […]
Makenna Schwab is at it again. She’s a 12-year-old on a philanthropic mission to raise more than $10,000 for Seattle Children’s, a place she says saved her life. Makenna, who donated 33 red Radio Flyer wagons to the hospital last December, has two new goals this year: raise money for a low radiation X-ray machine […]
Alexander (Alex) Conrad, 8, is one of a kind. He lives with an extremely rare chromosomal deletion, which has unfortunately caused a variety of complex medical issues, including a severe form of scoliosis. By the time Alex was 2 years old, he’d endured numerous surgeries to fix a variety of physical abnormalities. His 70 degree […]
Patients and families celebrated Halloween a little early this year thanks to Spirit of Children, the charitable arm of Spirit Halloween. Spirit of Children hosted a Halloween party for patients and families complete with costumes of all shapes and sizes, a visit from Donnie and Leo from Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a plethora […]
When I was 16, I spent 10 days at Seattle Children’s in the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (now called the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit, or PBMU). I fought it. I hated it. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Looking back three years later, I can tell you that those were the most important […]
Dr. David Rawlings and Dr. Andrew Scharenberg, researchers at the Center for Immunity and Immunotherapy at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, published a paper today in Science Translational Medicine that reveals a groundbreaking approach to engineering human T cells, which are crucial for fighting infection and show promise in treating autoimmune disorders, blood diseases and some […]