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,”…
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…
Bryce Carden’s name might sound familiar. He’s the Louisville firefighter who heroically rescued a woman trapped in a semi hanging off the side of the Clark Memorial Bridge earlier this year. The team at Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of medicine, was able to play hero for Bryce’s daughter, Oaklynn, thanks…
When Jessica and Jarrod Hogue left Norton Hospital without their newborn, they had no idea what to make of the following days, let alone years. On March 12, 2021, the Hogues welcomed their baby, Hudson, into the world nine weeks early due to a very complex congenital heart defect. As a chronic planner, Jessica had…
When Lindsay Brock was born, the world welcomed a fighter. Lindsay entered this world six weeks earlier than expected. Her early days were marked by medical complications that landed her in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at two Norton Healthcare hospitals. She would spend over a month fighting for her life, being cared for…
No parent wants to see their child in pain. For months this summer, Anita Salik watched her 9-year-old son, Harold, experience persistent, debilitating headaches. “I would always wake up in the night and it would hurt,” Harold said. “I couldn’t stop crying.” “He’d get mad sometimes when he had it because he just couldn’t enjoy…
Surrounded by nurses and staff, Alaina Kenney proudly rang the “end of treatment bell” at Norton Children’s Hospital. The celebration in early August marked the end of the 13-year-old’s chemotherapy treatments, nearly four years after being diagnosed neuroblastoma, a type of cancer found most often in kids and infants. One day in September 2019, as…
Arguing with your child isn’t something that excites most parents, but that’s not the case for David Williams. David’s 7-year-old son, Oaks, is on the autism spectrum and nonverbal. Thanks to Norton Children’s Autism Center Oaks now has a specialized electronic tablet that has given him a voice for the first time. The tablet allows…