Patient Stories, Pulmonology, Transport Team

After 31 days in a coma, Owensboro teen returns home in time for Christmas

Two years ago, 16-year-old Grant Oller had a slight cough the morning after attending a dance with friends. The cough got worse, and after he felt exhausted and developed a sore throat, he went to his pediatrician. His oxygen levels were so low that his pediatrician admitted him to a local hospital in Owensboro. The…

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Norton Childrens Hospital, Recipes, Urology

5 foods for urinary tract infections in a child

A child’s urinary system plays an important role in filtering and eliminating waste products from the body. A balanced diet filled with key power foods can have a big impact on keeping the body healthy. Our specialists at Norton Children’s Urology recommend five power foods to improve urinary health. Water. Drinking plenty of water is…

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Gastroenterology, NICU, Patient Stories

From 1 pound, 10 ounces to a thriving kindergartner

When Dana’s daughter, LeAnn, was born at 25 weeks, she weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces. Born more than three months early, LeAnn was so fragile she couldn’t be held or even taken out of the incubator for a week, and her skin looked almost see-through, her mother recalled. LeAnn would spend months overcoming one health…

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Neurosciences, Patient Stories

Professionalism, compassion and popsicles for Owensboro girl with dangerous vascular condition

When Molly Knott was 2, the toddler took a spill in the kitchen and her mother reflexively scooped her up, grasping her under her arms. That’s when she first noticed a lump under Molly’s left armpit. Molly said it hurt. A bug bite probably, right? As it got a little bigger, it still wasn’t clear…

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Employee stories - Norton Childrens, Endocrinology

Helping kids thrive while facing the challenges of being LGBTQ+

LGBTQ kids face a higher risk of discrimination, bullying, harassment and family rejection. For many, these burdens affect their health. “LGBTQ individuals often encounter more obstacles compared with their peers,” said Suzanne E. Kingery, M.D., pediatric endocrinologist with Norton Children’s Endocrinology. “These things lead to poor health outcomes through increased risk of anxiety, depression and…

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Autism, Developmental-behavioral Pediatrics and Genetics, Neurosciences, Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories, Rett Syndrome

Bardstown girl living with Rett syndrome, a rare autism-like condition

Grace Hatfield seemed to be developing like a normal toddler. She was walking, talking and interacting with family. But as she approached 15 months, her development seemed to start going in reverse. “Grace began losing words,” said Kim Hatfield, Grace’s mom. “Then, while talking to her, she’d start to zone out — just staring at…

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Cancer, Leukemia, Patient Stories

Childhood leukemia patient returns to the hospital as a staff member

Heather Kays was a 12-year-old girl newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was a cancer patient at Norton Children’s Hospital. Now, as a 23-year-old healthy woman, she is on the staff as a patient care associate in the hospital’s Addison Jo Blair Cancer Care Center. As she cares for children undergoing treatment with…

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Heart, Norton Childrens Outreach, Patient Stories, Pulmonary Atresia, Tetralogy of Fallot, Transport Team

A Bowling Green girl is ready for kindergarten after complex heart care

Kara Ainsley is a registered nurse at a rehabilitation facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She can tell when things are going smoothly and when they aren’t. After a relatively uneventful pregnancy, she labored the morning of May 31, 2015, at the local hospital. If there was anything unusual about her labor it was the duration…

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Back to School, COVID19, Norton Childrens Medical Group

Review your college-bound child’s health insurance

Colleges across the country are taking steps to keep students safer — reconfiguring dorm rooms, creating more classroom space to allow for social distancing and adopting policies to reduce the risk of spread of the coronavirus. It’s not too late to review your child’s health insurance and make sure they understand health insurance and can…

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CICU, Employee stories - Norton Childrens, Heart, Heart Failure, Heart Transplant, Ventricular Assist Device

Norton Children’s Heart Institute growth helped pediatric cardiologist decide to move to Louisville

Pediatric cardiologist Sarah J. Wilkens, M.D., MPH, has trained to care for the sickest children — heart failure and transplant patients. “Ultimately what motivates me are the patients and trying to support their families in these difficult situations,” Dr. Wilkens said. Equally important, she said, is seeing her patients as they grow up — then…

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Health & Wellness, Norton Childrens Medical Group, Prevention & Wellness

Prevent coronavirus spread: Don’t touch your face

Touching your face may be a habit you don’t realize you have. One study shows that a person can touch their face up to 23 times per hour. Norton Children’s wants every child to be a “Super Kid.” Being a Norton Children’s Super Kid means doing activities that prevent spread of the coronavirus. Super Kids…

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Employee stories - Norton Childrens, Endocrinology

Transforming endocrinology care into one of the best in the nation

Since Louisville native and endocrinologist Kupper A. Wintergerst, M.D., arrived at Norton Children’s Hospital in 2006, he has expanded the endocrinology and diabetes program from a single physician and nurse practitioner to 10 physicians and seven nurse practitioners. The latest recognition of the transformation of Norton Children’s Endocrinology into one of the best diabetes programs…

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