On the Pulse

In honor of American Heart Month, we are sharing Gabrielle’s incredible journey from sick baby to healthy toddler.

Christen Simon was 18 weeks into her third pregnancy when a routine ultrasound revealed the unthinkable: a serious birth defect. The daughter that Christen and her husband would call Gabrielle would need a heart transplant soon after birth.

“At that point I was in shock,” said Simon. “I didn’t know heart defects existed before that point in time. It wasn’t even in my scope of possibilities, not for my daughter.” Read full post »

The legalization of marijuana in the state of Washington, along with the impending legalization of marijuana sales this spring, has sparked concern among many parents who have questions on what this means for their children.

Leslie Walker, MD, division chief of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, recently co-authored a guide for parents about preventing underage marijuana use. Walker says that it’s important for parents to know the facts, learn how to talk about marijuana and be aware of the messages that their children may see.

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Dr. David Suskind

Late last year, David Suskind, MD, shared the good news with The Seattle Times that he saw positive results in the first FDA-approved studies of fecal transplants in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and, more specifically, in those with Crohn’s disease.

Our blog post on the research, published last June, has generated interest from families as far away as Japan.

Fecal transplants — a hot topic? Actually, it is. The research has been widely covered by the media and is even more important to the patients with IBD and families who clamor for new treatments and information that can make daily living easier and more “normal.” On the Pulse sat down with Suskind to follow up on his research, and to find out what’s next.

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In honor of American Heart Month, we are sharing a series of stories about some of our incredible heart patients who have overcome the odds.

Nobi Johnson was a seemingly healthy, charismatic and extremely athletic 13-year-old girl. She excelled at sports and was a star on the basketball court and soccer field. There was nothing she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it, which made the diagnosis of an anomalous coronary artery difficult to understand. Sports were out of the question, due to the unforeseen heart defect. How would Nobi find her happiness again? It would take over a year, but Nobi would find herself back on the court, thanks to her determination to play again and Seattle Children’s and Mary Bridge Children’s Regional Cardiac Surgery Program. Read full post »

Last fall, 20-year-old Milton Wright III was given a death sentence. Today, he is expected to live a long, healthy life. This is the incredible story of how two determined researchers and the parents of a young boy came together to save him.

On Sept. 18, 2013, 20-year-old Milton Wright III walked into Seattle Children’s Hospital and received some devastating news.

Leukemia. Again. The third time in his young life, to be precise.

Wright wasn’t surprised by the diagnosis. He had been worried his cancer was back and went to the hospital alone to avoid worrying his mom and three younger siblings. Still, the news was paralyzing.

“I really felt like I was coming up in the world,” he said. “I thought I was done with cancer.”

Then the news got worse. Wright’s leukemia had become resistant to chemotherapy. A bone marrow transplant could cure his cancer, but he would have to be in remission first, and that couldn’t happen without chemotherapy. His chances of survival were dismal. Read full post »

Scientists at Seattle Children’s Research Institute are using a unique species of fish to find out why some babies are born with heart malformations and how a defective heart might repair itself.

About one percent of U.S. babies are born with a heart defect, requiring medication, surgery or catheter procedures. While the condition is common, the cause is often unknown. Multiple genes are believed to contribute to heart malformations so genetic testing is difficult.

That’s where the minnow-sized zebrafish comes in. Zebrafish are ideal research subjects because they carry many of the same genes that are found in humans, including those that contribute to heart defects. Zebrafish also have transparent embryos that grow outside the mother, allowing scientists to easily observe their development. Read full post »

The heart that connects Rachel Cradduck to a family in Mexico was transplanted into her son Ethan Robbins at Seattle Children’s Hospital when he was just five months old. It came from a baby who died in a California hospital after her family traveled there for medical care.

“A heart transplant is a bittersweet thing,” says Rachel. “During Ethan’s transplant and every day since, I have been deeply aware that another family suffered a tragic loss. I wanted to thank them for the incredible thing they did.”

Rachel had her chance last fall – about a year and a half after Ethan’s transplant – through a unique video teleconference arranged by Seattle Children’s Heart Center and Telemedicine teams at Children’s, and on the other end by Sierra Donor Services (SDS), the Sacramento-based organ procurement organization that helped facilitate the transplant. Read full post »

Dr. Ed Marcuse, left, and Ruth Benfield, right

Let’s go back…way back, to 1977. The first Star Wars film was released and a gallon of gas cost 65 cents.

That was the year Ed Marcuse, MD, MPH, a young physician who came to Seattle Children’s in 1973, joined the search committee to find a new nursing director for outpatient clinics. Marcuse and the team hired someone with pediatric expertise, leadership potential and passion for Seattle Children’s mission: Ruth Benfield.

Now 37 years later, Benfield, who had become the vice president of Psycho-Social Services, retired on Feb. 3 and Marcuse, medical director for Quality Improvement, will retire one month later.

With their combined 78 years of service, Benfield and Marcuse have left a lasting impression at Seattle Children’s.

But rather than make their retirements a celebration of their careers, they’ve decided to use the occasion to garner support for something they both hold near and dear to their hearts – the Journey Program, a program that helps families cope after losing a child.

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Chrissy Ehlinger had a very normal pregnancy, so when her son Carter was born she had no concerns about his health. He was beautiful and perfect and looked like any healthy baby should. It wasn’t until a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive newborn screening test called pulse oximetry screening revealed the unthinkable.

Pulse oximetry testing is not required in every state, even though it is recommended by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Fortunately for Chrissy, the hospital where baby Carter was born elected to do pulse oximetry testing on newborns. Here, Chrissy recounts how that decision saved her little boy’s life. Read full post »

It’s Seahawks mania all around the city of Seattle and for good reason – they are going to the big game this Sunday! The Seahawks have long been friends of Seattle Children’s Hospital, visiting our patients annually around the holidays during their Captain’s Blitz. This year, our incredible relationship with quarterback Russell Wilson has also helped to grow our relationship with the Hawks and allowed for Seattle Children’s to benefit from many initiatives around the city due to the success of the team.

Here’s a quick recap of what’s happening this week in support of Seattle Children’s, and how the hospital and our community is showing Hawks pride.
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