‘A heartbeat in my head’
At 10 years old, Halle Shelton didn’t have the words to explain what was happening inside her head. She just knew it hurt. It started in 2014 with double vision and small symptoms that didn’t seem connected. Then came the migraine pain. Her eye doctor noticed dangerous pressure and sent her to a specialist, who…
Read Full StoryA new heart for Lorenzo: A story of hope and love
Complex diagnosis and delivery The diagnosis was hypoplastic left heart syndrome with mitral stenosis and aortic atresia, a severe congenital heart condition in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped. Lorenzo’s very small left ventricle could not function properly; the mitral valve was narrowed, and the aortic valve was completely blocked. With…
Read Full StoryWhat seemed like a stubborn strep infection was kidney failure — at age 7
When Isabelle Black started running fevers after her 7th birthday, the explanation seemed simple: Strep throat was going around. She tested positive and took antibiotics. The fever went away — only to return again and again over the next few months. After four rounds of antibiotics, Isabelle started losing weight and didn’t have much of…
Read Full StoryClubfoot journey: Cory’s steps forward inspire
When DeLanna and Ryne Williams of Bowling Green, Kentucky, were expecting their second child and went for a 20-week anatomy scan, concerns from the scan led to additional imaging. Soon after, they learned that their baby, Cory, had a medical condition that could be identified before birth. Early diagnosis They were referred to Norton Children’s…
Read Full StoryA nurse’s son needs a heart transplant: Their story is a reminder of why compassionate care matters
Dane was born fighting. At just 1 week old, he underwent complex open heart surgery. And now, at just 6 months old, he and his family are facing their greatest challenge: waiting for a heart transplant. On March 13, 2026, Dane officially was listed for a heart transplant at Status 1A, the highest priority level….
Read Full StoryElaina rings the bell
There once was a girl named Elaina who had just turned 3 and was getting ready for big-girl school. She was nervous, but excited. Her mom noticed she was starting to walk on her tiptoes, but she thought it was just anxiety. She was also very pale, even though she called herself an “outy-outy girl”…
Read Full StoryAfter beating childhood cancer, former patient inspired to ‘give back’ and become a nurse
Newborn survives undiagnosed transposition of the great arteries with care team that didn’t give up
Ashlie Paulin and her family were expecting a joyful Christmas in Louisville when her son Booker was born on Dec. 23, 2021. Instead, they had to hope for a Christmas miracle that their baby boy would survive. Doctors discovered baby Booker had a serious heart condition that went undetected during Ashlie’s pregnancy. Suddenly, it was…
Read Full StoryComplex congenital heart disease
Hattie Etling’s heart journey began before she was born, with a diagnosis so complex it required advanced planning, innovative imaging and a highly specialized heart team. Hattie was diagnosed before birth with heterotaxy syndrome and complex congenital heart disease. Her care team at Norton Children’s Heart Institute knew her untypical anatomy would present extraordinary challenges….
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Born way too early, baby celebrates a homecoming just in time for 1st holiday outside the hospital
On a seemingly normal July day, Charles and Samantha Rockwell never imagined their lives were about to change forever. Samantha, who was not even four months pregnant, had just finished a long, 15-hour workday when she began feeling stomach pains. “I thought maybe it was nothing,” she recalled. “But two hours later, we were holding…
Read Full StoryEva’s journey: Breathing easier, thanks to Norton Children’s
When Eva Orlanka Taylor arrived in Kentucky from Haiti at just six years old, she brought with her more than a new name and a new home. She carried an illness no one had fully explained, one that had shaped her early childhood. At Norton Children’s, her family finally began to uncover the answers, and…
Read Full StoryFrom micropreemie to football fan: Madden Baechle’s journey with hydrocephalus
Madden Baechle was born at just 25 weeks’ gestation, weighing 1 pound, 10 ounces. He spent 152 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Norton Children’s Hospital, facing life-threatening complications and undergoing 13 surgeries. Today, those NICU struggles feel like a distant memory, as 11-year-old Madden recently stepped onto the field at Western…
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