From the studio to the stage, cancer patients at Norton Children’s Hospital are more like musicians-in-the-making. “The battle that they have done, and they are so resilient,” said Joseph M. Flynn, D.O., MPH, FACP, physician-in-chief, Norton Cancer Institute. Each child has a story to tell and is finding a voice through music. “The music gives…
Girls who are exercising more and eating less — or at least not filling their bodies with the nutrients they need — may be putting themselves at risk for a health condition called female athlete triad. “The female athlete triad has three parts: low energy availability, problems with menstruation and low bone density,” said S….
Evan Karr is an active 14-year-old who swims and likes to have fun with his friends. But underneath his brave exterior is a young man who was born with tetralogy of Fallot — a rare condition made up of four heart defects that cause the heart to pump oxygen-poor blood into the body. He is…
Another phase of Norton Children’s Hospital’s expansion is nearly complete. Patients and staff cut the ribbon to open part of the hospital’s newest medical/surgical unit. The space on the sixth floor features 12 private rooms along with a teen entertainment room, toddler play room and nourishment spaces for families. The rest of the unit, which…
For the first time in eight years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated its recommendations for children recovering from concussions, easing restrictions on electronics and physical activity. The AAP is no longer recommending complete removal of electronic devices, such as television, computers and smartphones, following a concussion. In addition, the guidelines support children…
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008, a hot and humid day, Max Gilpin’s mother, Michele Crockett, received a phone call just as she was leaving work to pick him up from football practice. The caller said her 15-year-old had passed out on the field and was not moving. “I was not prepared for what I saw…
Teens at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville, Kentucky, are teaching their peers across Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) about the dangers of smoking and using e-cigarettes. Last year, Norton Children’s Prevention & Wellness began working with a group of media students on a Teens against Tobacco project called SmokeFreePRP. The students developed campaign…
An old proverb advises that it’s not glittering weapons that fight the fight, but a hero’s heart. Bob Wilkinson, R.N., probably understands this better than most. A former combat soldier, Bob, 63, served in the Army for 20 years. After retiring as a first sergeant, he began a career in nursing. He has spent the…
Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) among young women ages 15 to 19. Nationally in 2016, 18,285 teen girls were diagnosed. In Kentucky, the number of cases rose 30 percent from 2011 to 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even more alarming, pediatric/adolescent gynecologists in Louisville and Southern…
When a parent has a newborn, child or teen with a congenital heart condition that needs surgery, they want to know where the operation should happen and which hospital has a record of success. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) operates a database that rates congenital heart programs based on patients’ outcomes. Users can look…
Good news in the fight against cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV): The vaccination rate for this disease has risen 5 points from 2016 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet, only 66 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 have received the first dose, and only 49 percent…
Children with blurred vision and headache or double vision may be experiencing increased pressure inside the skull. Sometimes there’s no obvious cause. Often, the condition is pseudotumor cerebri. Pseudotumor cerebri in adults is associated with obesity and is much more frequent in women. In children who haven’t started puberty, pseudotumor cerebri happens equally among boys and girls…