Mica and Samantha Baker of Bowling Green, Kentucky, are the parents of four children, all boys, with August “Auggie” Baker being the youngest. For all their children, annual well-child visits with their pediatrician are routine to make sure everyone is healthy and hitting milestones. “Auggie started out the healthiest among his siblings,” Samantha said. Life…
At age 5, Jakob Quenzer was diagnosed with ganglioglioma, a rare and slow-growing benign tumor in his brain. Thanks to a bicycle accident leading to a scan at his local urgent clinic, the tumor was found early. “Upon arrival at the local urgent clinic, we learned that a total of four boys were being seen…
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….
Norton Children’s has been named in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals 2024-2025 rankings. In addition to being named the top children’s hospital in Kentucky, Norton Children’s was nationally ranked in seven specialties. “We’re honored to be the No. 1 children’s hospital in Kentucky and home to some of the nation’s best specialties…
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…
Norton Children’s has named a new physician to lead its cancer institute. Michael J. Ferguson, M.D., will serve as chief of Norton Children’s Cancer Institute and division chief of the University of Louisville School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation. In these roles, Dr. Ferguson will lead Norton…
Abby Wimsatt is excited for the future after receiving a unique operation to treat bone cancer in her leg. Last year, Abby, a 14-year-old from Cecilia, Kentucky, developed knee pain. At first the gymnast and her family chalked it up to an injury. But after pain wouldn’t go away, Abby was scheduled for an MRI,…
Just under half of children with brain tumors have symptoms that affect their vision. Brain tumors either from direct compression of the visual pathway by the tumor or from elevated pressure from increased fluid (hydrocephalus) in the brain. Most children with brain tumors have obstructive hydrocephalus at diagnosis, according to Michael Angelo Huang, M.D., pediatric…
A child who has sudden changes in vision, hearing or speech, or develops balance issues or other symptoms that suggest a possible brain tumor may need to have 3D pictures taken of their brain. “Based on a child’s symptoms and a clinical evaluation, brain imaging is the next step,” said Mustafa Barbour, M.D., pediatric hematologist/oncologist…
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…
Through two brain surgeries, months of chemotherapy and a lot of hospital visits over the last three years, “Incredible Abel” had one goal — to be well enough to try football. “I don’t think he’s ever had the opportunity to be a typical kid, but now he has the chance,” said Ashely Durham, Abel Durham’s…
It’s hard for Annashae Wyatt to remember life before her diagnosis. While most kids her age were starting to explore the world, Annashae’s took an unexpected turn. At just 4 years old, she was diagnosed with Type 1 neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in nerve tissue. At the time of her…