The Priar family was enjoying a summer barbecue when they noticed something was wrong with their 2-year-old son, George. “We were at a pool party, and he started staring off, just kind of went blank, so we called 911,” said Larissa Priar, George’s mother. “George was taken to our local emergency department, and we learned…
Anyone who’s met Heavenleigh falls in love with her grin. It’s been winning people over since she was an infant. Heavenleigh has an even bigger reason to smile these days. Almost three years after receiving the first specially-designed, tiny pacemaker for a premature infant, she is now officially adopted by the family who raised her….
Hospital halls are filled with sounds of beeping monitors, rolling carts and constant footsteps — a cacophony that can be anxiety-inducing for kids and their families as they face a difficult time. On the seventh floor at Norton Children’s Hospital, one man works to change that tune, helping patients create new melodies of their own….
Public service is in Gavin Ford’s blood. Gavin idolizes his grandfather, a deputy fire chief, and grew up hanging around a fire station in the Pleasure Ridge Park area of Louisville. His father is a local police officer. Gavin, 16, wants to follow in their footsteps. “I want to be a firefighter and arson investigator,”…
Every Tuesday morning, the sweet sound of music takes over on the Norton Healthcare St. Matthews campus. Inside the Marshall Women’s Health & Education Center, a group of parents and infants are sitting in a circle. A music therapist strums the guitar, while the group sings along. The babies move their bodies to the beat….
A daredevil tree climb resulted in Magnus Noe taking a trip to Norton Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery. Magnus, 8, and his family are from Louisville but now live near St. Augustine, Florida. They came back to Louisville for a week to escape Hurricane Milton. While at a friend’s house, Magnus decided to climb a…
Ethan Wright takes any obstacle he faces in stride. His passion for playing soccer has only continued to grow since his Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, which has taught him even more about grit and determination — both on and off the soccer field. Ethan, a 15-year-old student at the J. Graham Brown School in Louisville,…
Every year in the U.S., 3,500 to 4,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia. That’s about 30% of all childhood cancers. Leukemia is a type of cancer that develops in the bone marrow. New blood cells don’t grow properly, which leads to production of many of these immature cells. The most common type in children often…
Audrey Bennett from Bowling Green, Kentucky, was excited to be a first-time mom and overjoyed for the arrival of twins. “I had written out and discussed my birthing plan in advance,” Audrey said. “I was confident going into my next appointment, but things quickly changed when the twins had other plans. I went into labor…
According to Brittany Ramsey, her daughter, 3-year-old Datura “Dayday” Matherly, is the “happiest child in the world.” DayDay, from Russellville, Kentucky, has Angelman syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder. Dayday was diagnosed around her first birthday. According to the National Institutes of Health, Angelman Syndrome affects fewer than 50,000 people in the U.S. Those who have…
It’s been a long journey for Louisville Male High School football star Isaac Sowells Jr. Isaac, known by most as “Spike,” is among the highest-ranked high school offensive linemen in Kentucky and has been recruited by some of the top college programs in the country. Spike recently announced his decision to play center at North…
Elijah “Eli” Mayes, an 11-year-old from Lewisburg, Kentucky, is thriving, despite a rare and complicated heart disease. When he was born, Eli was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, an abnormality of the heart. The left side of the heart is smaller and weaker than it should be. With hypoplastic left heart syndrome, surgery is…