An active 9-year-old couldn’t have asked for a better summer. Alaina Kenney enjoyed playing softball in the perfect, hot summer sun. She loved boating and tubing frequently on Rough River Lake with her family. After one particularly perfect day, Alaina spent the night with her grandparents, who were planning to take her to school the…
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,…
Childhood cancer fact: Childhood cancers make up less than 1% of all cancers diagnosed each year, accounting for about 10,500 children in the United States under the age of 15. Childhood cancer rates have been on the rise for the past few decades. Here are some facts: 10 childhood cancer facts After accidents, cancer is…
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreak of 2021 brought unprecedented summertime levels of the infection to states like Kentucky, raising some concerns about the traditional cold-weather season for RSV. At Norton Children’s, health care providers are seeing some children infected with both RSV and COVID-19, said Kristina A. Bryant, M.D., physician with Norton Children’s Infectious…
Sometimes known as a “PKU test,” a genetic screening for newborns actually checks for a wide range of genetic disorders. PKU, an abbreviation for phenylketonuria, is a rare inherited disorder that causes the phenylalanine amino acid to build up in the body and can lead to brain damage. It’s caused by a genetic defect that…
Flu and COVID-19 symptoms can be the same, leading to confusion and anxiety for parents with children feeling under the weather. If your child experiences symptoms such as a fever and cough — or if you do — here are some steps to help prevent the spread: Stay home except to get medical care. Get…
Tests to diagnose muscular dystrophy generally look for genes associated with inherited muscle diseases and include measures of muscle strength and neurological tests along with other examinations to rule out other causes of symptoms. Before any complex tests are conducted, your pediatrician or specialist physician will ask about your child’s symptoms and whether any other…
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, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine — the same team and hospital where she had her heart care for more than…
COVID-19 symptoms in kids are largely the same as adults, but there can be subtle differences. Common COVID-19 symptoms include cough, fever or both, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There hasn’t been enough evidence yet to single out symptoms of particular COVID-19 variants such as delta. A child with suspected…
On Valentine’s Day, 2020, Angel Florian received a 6-foot-tall plush rose from her boyfriend. It was a substitute for the real flowers he wanted to give her but couldn’t because her weakened immune system made it too risky. It was a year earlier, just after her 17th birthday, that Angel received a diagnosis of myelodysplastic…
When Alex and Kaylee Sutton’s son was born at 25 weeks, his new parents were scared their 1-pound, 9-ounce baby, born on the cusp of viability, wouldn’t make it. They’d arrived at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital at midnight, expecting to find out that Kaylee’s contractions were false labor pains. Instead, they learned Kaylee was…
Because they haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19, children under 12 should quarantine immediately after exposure to someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Exposure definitions for children in K-12 school: If all children are wearing masks, exposure is defined as being within 3 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes while…