Kentucky Poison Control Center

Tales from the poison center: vape juice

My 3-year-old son and I stopped by my buddy’s house to borrow a tool for a plumbing repair. While we were in the garage, Matthew wandered away and into the house. I don’t know how long he was gone, but at some point, I noticed how quiet everything was —never a good sign with Matthew….

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Childrens Hospital Foundation, Health & Wellness, Orthopedics, Splash N Dash

Starting a running program with your kids

Our kids argue about everything we ask them to do. But earlier this month, when my wife and I asked if they wanted to go to the local high school track, they were in the car before we had even changed clothes. We went with a plan to run and they went to have fun,…

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Heart, Heart Transplant, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Patient Stories

Remembering Baby Calvin

In 1986, Robbie Cardin became Norton Children’s and Kentucky’s first pediatric heart transplant patient. As you can imagine, his plight was covered by the media. Robbie was referred to as “Baby Calvin” to protect his family’s privacy. Robbie was born by cesarean section at Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Doctors knew right away something…

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Heart, Patient Stories

Heart surgery gives a boy his bounce back

Vibrant and bouncing, Wells Whitaker is a ball of energy. The 2-year-old bundle of long golden curls and bright laughter seems to have an endless supply of energy. His parents, Leslee and Matt, remember just months before, Wells was a very different toddler. “He has two older siblings,” Matt said. “He would try to keep…

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Hand and Upper Extremities, Orthopedics, Teens

Pitching injuries could be prevented with these tips

Being a sport parent is tough. You want the best for your kid. You want to push them (gently) when they need it but also want them to have fun during their athletic endeavors. And you certainly want to help them avoid pitching injuries and ailments. Recently, Ryan J. Krupp, M.D., orthopedic and sports medicine specialist with Norton…

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Orthopedics

How to care for your kid’s cast without going insane

What do Corvettes and broken arms have in common? Those slick cars and that fancy new cast your child is wearing are likely made out of the same fiberglass. Pretty cool, huh? Maybe, but that’s little or no consolation if you’re now dealing with an unhappy child whose life has been altered for the next…

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Heart, Patient Stories

Fighting for a brave heart

Dynamic and vivacious, 11-year-old twin sisters Lauren and Madison are every bit as charming as they are spirited. However, while the girls are matched in character, they differ in physical development. Older by 30 minutes, Lauren is noticeably taller than Madison, who was born with a congenital heart defect. Halfway through her pregnancy, their mother,…

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Norton Childrens Medical Group, Sleep Medicine

Electronics at bedtime bad for sleep

A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics has shown that kids using electronic devices such as smart phones and tablets at bedtime are more than twice as likely to not get the sleep they need. And keeping the devices in the bedroom can also affect sleep, as children in the study were 50 percent more…

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Orthopedics

Growing Pains

When you awaken to those middle-of-the-night moans and groans from your growing kid, it’s not necessarily a reason to rush to the emergency department. Nor should it be dismissed as an attempt to skip school the next day. You might chalk it up as an episode of growing pains. There’s long been debate about the…

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Cancer, Heart, Newsjacking

Addie’s Journey: Fighting cancer with a smile

This story was originally published on April 2, 2015 and has been updated. It had been in high school, over 10 years ago, when I had last seen Angela Roberts. It wasn’t under the greatest circumstances that we reconnected, but she was still the same as I had remembered — a smile from ear to…

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Norton Childrens Hospital, Orthopedics

Ice or heat for an injury?

Amid the bumps, bruises and sprains of childhood, it can be confusing when to use ice or heat for an injury. Applying ice is a safe and effective way to help with swelling and pain. It can be go-to first aid for a variety of minor injuries, according to Jennifer Brey, M.D., pediatric orthopedic surgeon and…

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Neurosciences, Norton Childrens Medical Group

Ways to stop brain freeze ice cream headaches in kids

When kids get brain freeze, that ice cream-induced headache can quickly bring an otherwise happy child to tears and take the fun out of enjoying a cold treat on a hot day. What causes brain freeze? “A brain freeze is a short-term headache caused when ingesting cold substances,” said Brian Plato, D.O., neurologist and headache…

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