Heart, Heart Transplant

Helping more kids survive the waitlist for a new heart

For many children on the pediatric heart transplant waiting list, the wait can be a year or longer — as available organs are directed to the sickest children first. For about three-fourths of those kids, it is less than three months before they are matched with a donor and the surgery is completed. The heart…

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Heart, NICU, Patient Stories, Surgery

Rare condition quickly diagnosed and treated by neonatal and multidisciplinary care specialists

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…

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Childrens Hospital Foundation, Foundation, Norton Healthcare Foundation

Volunteers and donors recognized for service and commitment

The Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation and Norton Healthcare Foundation recently recognized outstanding volunteers and donors for their service and commitment. Collectively, these volunteers have donated thousands of hours of their time and raised millions of dollars to support programs, hospital improvements, education and research throughout Norton Healthcare. Congratulations and thank you to each of them…

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Norton Childrens Medical Group

What to do about a baby’s distended abdomen

A distended abdomen in a baby is typically nothing to worry about — babies’ bellies tend to stick out, especially after eating. “If your baby’s abdomen is swollen and hard and they haven’t moved their bowels for more than a day or two or there is vomiting, call your pediatrician,” said Tiffani Payne, M.D., pediatrician…

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COVID19, Neurosciences

COVID-19 appears to make existing neurological conditions in kids worse

Cases of COVID-19 neurological damage in kids have been rare, but children with chronic neurological diseases have seen their conditions worsen, according to a child neurologist in Louisville. “People have seen really small numbers of kids with rare complications spread across the country,” said Michael L. Sweeney M.D., a child neurologist with Norton Children’s Neuroscience…

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Cancer, Research

Norton Children’s Cancer Institute offers clinical trials for kids with AML

It’s the news no parent wants to hear: acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This cancer of the bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made — is rare but dangerous, affecting about 500 children in the U.S. every year. Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, is…

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Epilepsy, Neurosciences

Treating seizures in children using electrical stimulation

Using electrical stimulation to treat seizures in children — neuromodulation — is a potentially life-changing treatment option for kids with drug-resistant, or refractory, epilepsy. “Neuromodulation is the alteration of nerve activity through targeted delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation,” said Ian S. Mutchnick, M.D., a pediatric neurosurgeon at Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, affiliated…

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Infectious Disease, Norton Childrens Medical Group

Symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease

Hand, foot and mouth disease symptoms include the small red sores that often appear in the mouth and rashes that appear on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet and that give the disease its name. Hand, foot and mouth disease can be spread through kissing, hugging or sharing food and drinks….

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News, Pulmonology

Study to look at effects of new greenery on children’s asthma

A new study by Norton Children’s Pulmonology, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, will examine whether more trees and other plants in a neighborhood affects children’s asthma. The team, led by pediatric pulmonologist Scott Bickel, M.D., will evaluate changes in children’s asthma as thousands of new trees, shrubs and grasses are planted in a…

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Cancer, Hematology

New drug treats hemophilia A in children

Norton Children’s Cancer Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, cares for children with hemophilia, blood cancers and many other diseases. Emicizumab is a new drug now being used for children with moderate to severe hemophilia A. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that stops a person’s blood from clotting, so it becomes difficult to…

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Cancer, Hematology

Nurse known as ‘Sickle Cell Queen’ retires after 4 decades of care

June 6, 2021, marked the end of the long reign of the “Sickle Cell Queen,” LaVera Wilson. So-named by her colleagues, LaVera spent her 44-year nursing career with what is now Norton Children’s, much of the time as a lead apheresis nurse. “The first couple years, I started in general surgery, then moved to cardiology,…

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Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), Heart

Norton Children’s Heart Institute earns accreditation from the Adult Congenital Heart Association

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, affiliated with…

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