Infectious Disease, Norton Childrens Hospital, Norton Childrens Medical Group, Patient Stories, Pulmonology

RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — almost killed my baby

Alex McCoy shares her story about RSV in babies … This time last year, my husband and I were sitting in the Norton Children’s Hospital ”Just for Kids” Critical Care Center — decorated for Christmas — praying for our daughter’s life. Isla Mae was only 7 weeks old and relying on a ventilator to breathe….

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Heart, NICU, Norton Childrens Hospital, Norton Womens & Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories

41 hours in the life of a little girl who received a heart transplant

Surviving everything Stella Paul has been through in her one year of life is nothing short of a miracle. But her biggest miracle came on July 23, 2018, when a family made the difficult decision to donate their child’s heart. Norton Children’s Heart Institute Learn more about Norton Children’s Heart Institute or schedule an appointment….

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Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories, Radiothon, Teens

Remembering Max Gilpin 10 years after fatal heat stroke during football practice

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…

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Neurosciences, Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories

A year ago, this boy slept for 11 days — here’s how he’s doing now

Last October, Wyatt Shaw fell asleep. He didn’t wake up for nearly two weeks. Then 7 years old, Wyatt served as a ring bearer at a wedding in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He spent the evening making jokes and dancing with the girls in the bridal party. But 48 hours later, he was unable to stay awake….

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Heart, Patient Stories, Ventricular Septal Defect

Ugandan girl to return home happy and healthy after Louisville surgeons repair her heart

Two-year-old Gift Mbwali and her mother traveled more than 7,600 miles from their home in Uganda to Norton Children’s Heart Institute where surgeons repaired a heart defect she has lived with since birth. Her family was well aware of the high stakes. Her older brother, Patrick, made the same journey in 2017 to have a…

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Childrens Hospital Foundation, Heart, Heart Transplant, Home & BMW Raffle, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories

Once too fragile for a heart transplant, young P.J. and his family look to a bright future

Philmore Jackson III, is a courageous young man whose medical journey has taken many twists and turns. By age 3, Philmore, who goes by P.J., had been near death many times. By many accounts, there wasn’t much hope for him to live to his fourth birthday. Born in 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, P.J. was…

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Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories, Suicide

Boy shares important life lessons after attempting suicide

Jared Traxler almost became a statistic. At age 10, he attempted suicide. Fortunately, he was found, saved and given a second chance. It all started when he was 9. “I went into my Papaw’s room to ask to borrow a fishing pole,” Jared said. “I walked to his bed to wake him up, only to…

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ENT-Audiology, Norton Community Medical Associates, Patient Stories

4 questions to ask about ear infections

My son had his first ear infection when he was 8 months old. We were on vacation in Florida, his first beach vacation, when he spiked a fever of 104. Prior to this, he hadn’t had any ear infections or colds. We knew he had teeth coming in, so we chalked his fever up to…

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Craniofacial, Neurosciences, Norton Childrens Hospital, Patient Stories

Palestinian girl receives lifesaving Apert syndrome surgery

Ian Mutchnick, M.D., pediatric neurosurgeon, spends most of his days saving young lives at Norton Children’s Hospital. But in 2015, he was 6,239 miles away, donating his time to provide free neurosurgical care to kids in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank that experiences frequent political unrest. A mom walked into the clinic with…

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Heart, NICU, Patient Stories, Transport Team, Transposition of the Great Arteries, Ventricular Septal Defect

Bowling Green family becomes a ‘Brave Heart family’

The Miller family of Bowling Green, Kentucky, has a reason to celebrate Heart Month every day. Their daughter, Abigail, recently celebrated her first birthday — her “heartiversary” — with family and friends. A year ago, her parents, Amanda and Tim, learned Abigail needed lifesaving surgery to fix defects in her heart — ventricular septal defect…

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Arterial Switch Operation, Heart, Patient Stories, Transposition of the Great Arteries

After arterial switch heart operation, the baby is a man on the move

Logan Carroll is a young man on the move. A junior at Western Kentucky University, Carroll spent last summer biking 3,600 miles across the United States to raise money for Alzheimer’s research with his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta. He also enjoys distance running, camping, hiking and, of course, hanging out with friends. Carroll sounds like…

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Cancer, Patient Stories, Teens

The cancer journey from a sibling’s perspective

Living with cancer at any age is difficult, but experiencing cancer as a teen is especially difficult when you’re trying to be “normal.” T.J. Branham’s sister, Kayla, opens up about her teen brother’s diagnosis and his incredible strength throughout his cancer journey. I remember so clearly getting the call from him almost in tears saying…

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