Teens have different psychosocial needs than younger children. They crave autonomy and independence. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many teens are still grappling with a new normal: e-learning for the start of the school year, sports, extracurriculars and even some milestone events are different than they’ve experienced before. What can parents do to help their…
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic disorders in the world. Each year, 1,000 babies in the U.S. and 500,000 children worldwide are born with the condition, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month –– what should you know about this condition?…
It’s 2 a.m. and your child has a high fever. The signs of the flu are there, or is it COVID-19? At that point, a parent’s thoughts can race: “Should I call the pediatrician or go to the emergency department?” Take an inventory of what your child looks like and how they are acting based…
Acne. Hair growth. Irregular periods. Weight gain. Sounds like the usual issues teen girls deal with during puberty. Maybe — but not always. These also can be symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. When acne, hair growth on the face and body, and weight gain are excessive, this common hormonal disorder could be to blame….
With kids playing multiple organized sports or on several different teams, overuse injuries such as shinsplints in children have been on the rise. Shinsplints often occur in runners — but they can happen in sports such as football, soccer and others that require quick, cutting and sideways motions. How do you help your child prevent…
Heather Kays was a 12-year-old girl newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was a cancer patient at Norton Children’s Hospital. Now, as a 23-year-old healthy woman, she is on the staff as a patient care associate in the hospital’s Addison Jo Blair Cancer Care Center. As she cares for children undergoing treatment with…
Spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, is a condition that progressively causes the loss of motor neurons (anterior horn cells). SMA affects about 1 in 11,000 births and is the No. 1 genetic cause of death for infants. What do you know about the condition –– and the exciting new treatments that can help stop its progression?…
During the past 70 years, great strides have been made in developing treatments for cystic fibrosis (CF). A child born with the disease once had little hope of attending school, but today they are living into adulthood, graduating from college, having successful careers and getting married. In Louisville, children diagnosed with CF now have access…
Kara Ainsley is a registered nurse at a rehabilitation facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She can tell when things are going smoothly and when they aren’t. After a relatively uneventful pregnancy, she labored the morning of May 31, 2015, at the local hospital. If there was anything unusual about her labor it was the duration…
Colleges across the country are taking steps to keep students safer — reconfiguring dorm rooms, creating more classroom space to allow for social distancing and adopting policies to reduce the risk of spread of the coronavirus. It’s not too late to review your child’s health insurance and make sure they understand health insurance and can…
Caring for children born with complex heart conditions can be challenging and stressful for families. Treatment involves long hospital stays and sometimes multiple open heart surgeries. Being well enough to go home is a big step, and the transition from round-the-clock hospital care to home requires education and close monitoring. These complex conditions such as…
Pediatric cardiologist Sarah J. Wilkens, M.D., MPH, has trained to care for the sickest children — heart failure and transplant patients. “Ultimately what motivates me are the patients and trying to support their families in these difficult situations,” Dr. Wilkens said. Equally important, she said, is seeing her patients as they grow up — then…