When Leacoln Bale got a thumbs-up on her 20-week prenatal scan, she and her husband, Jeremy, felt relief. The scans looked great, and they were thrilled about having another healthy baby girl. Like her two older sisters — Ellie, 6, and 3-year-old Nora — Ava was born at home with assistance from a midwife. But…
The only accredited program in Kentucky and Indiana, Norton Children’s Heart Institute is recognized for collaborative work to treat adults and children living with lifelong congenital heart disease. In recognition of its expertise in serving individuals with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), a structural heart condition present at birth, Norton Children’s Heart Institute earned accreditation…
As Audrey Sims talks on the phone, her 7-year-old twin boys can be heard enthusiastically enjoying the video game they are playing upstairs. “We picked up video games when the pandemic hit,” Audrey said. “It is something they could do while quarantined and inside. They also like Legos. Luckily, neither of them is ever alone,…
Christa Taylor was born with Ebstein anomaly, pulmonary atresia and pulmonary stenosis, all forms of congenital heart disease (CHD). She manages her adult congenital heart disease with care from Norton Children’s Heart Institute — the same team and hospital where she had her heart care for more than 30 years. Growing up with congenital heart…
Roddy D. McDowell, M.D., and Delwyn E. McOmber, M.D., are making their Pediatric HeartCare Partners practice a part of Norton Children’s Heart Institute. In addition to adding two skilled pediatric cardiologists to the Norton Children’s heart team, Pediatric HeartCare Partners will add five Southern Indiana locations and three Louisville offices, improving access for patients and…
Heart failure is a condition that can affect people of all ages. In heart failure, the heart doesn’t pump as efficiently as it should. What causes heart failure in children? What is heart failure? In heart failure, the heart hasn’t stopped working; it’s just not working as well as it should. The heart is unable…
Avery Conover says she wants to drag race someday, just like her father, Ricky Conover. According to her mother, Kayla Conover, Avery is very independent and doesn’t give up. Kayla says that fighting spirit is how Avery has weathered surgeries and care of a single ventricle congenital heart defect. Kayla was surprised at her 20-week…
Parents Lena and Sixtus Iwu say that looking at their 5-month-old daughter Eleanor, you wouldn’t know what she’s been through with a congenital heart condition. The growing, active child born in December has a rare form of long QT syndrome. Her parents and physicians are amazed by how Eleanor continually has defied the odds against…
The Jackson family discovered the first surprise of their second pregnancy at their scheduled 14-week appointment: They were having twin boys. A few days before Christmas 2017, the family went for the 20-week anatomy scan, which showed the first sign that there might be a heart issue with “baby B,” their son, Walker. Already reeling…
For Lauren Fitzmaurice of Owensboro, Kentucky, after 30 weeks of pregnancy, her due date was starting to seem like it was within reach. Pregnant with her second son, Miles, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, prompting another ultrasound — all pretty normal stuff. But Lauren’s local OB/GYN noticed something not normal, an anomaly that needed…
Victoria A. Statler, M.D., works hard to educate children undergoing transplants on ways to avoid potentially dangerous infections. She also treats them when they do get sick. Children receiving transplanted organs or bone marrow take medicines to help their bodies accept the transplant. The drugs work by suppressing the immune system, so transplant recipients are…
Alyssa Claycomb considers her first two children “healthy as horses.” So during her pregnancy with her youngest child, Cayden Horton, the thought of congenital heart disease never entered her mind, let alone a very rare and usually fatal complex heart abnormality. The anatomy scan during her 22-week OB/GYN visit would change everything. Anatomy ultrasound leads…