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Jacob smiles while spinning a basketball on his finger like a pro.

Unstoppable: Flatfoot correction helps Jacob take control

Patient Stories
The first time Dr. Susan Mahan examined Jacob’s feet, she pressed on a tender spot near one of his arches. “You see that?” Jacob’s mother, Lucie, remembers her saying. “That bone isn’t supposed to be there.” Jacob was 13 and had spent a frustrating year trying to figure out why basketball, his greatest source of ... Read More about Unstoppable: Flatfoot correction helps Jacob take control
Tagged: flatfoot, lower extremity, orthopedics
Two babies doing tummy time on a blanket.

My son is a NICU GraD: Here’s what I’ve learned

Health and Parenting, Patient Stories
My husband and I aren’t first-time parents, but when our twins were born nine weeks early a year ago, everything we thought we knew went out the window. The thing is, it wasn’t Cal and Theo’s early arrival that was the biggest shock; it was the challenges that came afterward. Life with newborns and a ... Read More about My son is a NICU GraD: Here’s what I’ve learned
Tagged: Fetal Care and Surgery Center, lung disease, newborn medicine, nicu, prematurity
Kathryn poses with her painted tile, which reads, “You can’t cross the ocean by standing there and staring at it.”

Crossing the ocean: Kathryn learns how to manage chronic pain

Patient Stories
When Kathryn Chechile, 11, “graduated” from Boston Children’s Pediatric Pain and Rehabilitation Center (PPRC) last year, she painted a tile to hang on the wall of the Center’s space. It’s a fun ritual for patients who complete the intensive day program aimed at helping kids manage chronic pain. Kathryn’s design features a girl looking out ... Read More about Crossing the ocean: Kathryn learns how to manage chronic pain
Tagged: pain
Everly looks up at heart-shaped balloons in front of a red backdrop.

From swallowing troubles to doughnuts: How vascular ring treatment helped Everly

Patient Stories
By the time she was a year old, Everly Parisee was frequently wheezing. Then she had trouble swallowing foods. Her parents sought help from local pediatricians and specialists, who, in turn, couldn’t pinpoint a diagnosis. It turns out Everly had a type of vascular ring — a rare congenital defect that can constrict critical parts of the ... Read More about From swallowing troubles to doughnuts: How vascular ring treatment helped Everly
Tagged: aerodigestive, heart center, vascular rings
Ramie hugs his knees and looks into the distance

Faced with a rare type of liver cancer, Ramie focuses on the positive

Patient Stories
When Ramie Darling learned that his liver cancer had recurred, he thought for a while and then simply said, “OK.” Asked by his parents if he understood the situation, he replied, “I know I need more treatment. But whenever there’s a ‘down’ in life, I just think of the ‘ups.’” It’s an attitude that has ... Read More about Faced with a rare type of liver cancer, Ramie focuses on the positive
Tagged: liver cancer, transplant
Sadie, a young woman, knee pops a soccer ball. Her hair is down, and her eyes are focused on the ball. She is outdoors.

A small act of kindness: Blood donations get Sadie off the sidelines after her aplastic anemia diagnosis

Patient Stories
In March of 2024, Sadie’s life was interrupted. A busy high school senior with classes to attend, soccer matches to play, and a much-anticipated trip to France on the horizon, Sadie was very active and felt generally healthy. But when a follow-up appointment at her pediatrician’s office led to an urgent referral to Boston Children’s ... Read More about A small act of kindness: Blood donations get Sadie off the sidelines after her aplastic anemia diagnosis
Tagged: anemia, blood disorder, blood donor center, rare disease
Makai, a short bowel syndrome patient, with his brothers. He is dressed up for Halloween as a monster.

Then and now: Catching up with some of our short bowel syndrome kids

Patient Stories
Also known as “short gut,” short bowel syndrome is a life-threatening condition in which a lack of functioning intestine can make it difficult to absorb the nutrients needed to survive and thrive. Thanks to advances in medical and surgical treatments — many of which have been made by the team in Boston Children’s Center for Advanced ... Read More about Then and now: Catching up with some of our short bowel syndrome kids
Tagged: short bowel syndrome
Kaleb shows off his medals at the Men's Eastern National Championships.

A heavy-medaled gymnast and his close call with leg-length discrepancy

Patient Stories
Ask 15-year-old Kaleb what he likes about gymnastics and with a sly smile, he’ll say, “flipping around.” That’s Kaleb: understated, funny. But watch him in action, and you’ll see a focused gymnast who earned two medals in the 2024 Men’s Eastern National Championships. He probably won’t mention that two years ago, a surgeon told his ... Read More about A heavy-medaled gymnast and his close call with leg-length discrepancy
Tagged: limb lengthening and reconstruction, lower extremity, orthopedics, sports injury, sports medicine
Fiadh leaning her face in her hands.

For Fiadh: Pushing the envelope to treat drug-resistant epilepsy

Patient Stories
Fiadh is a bubbly and empathetic 4-year-old. And if you ask her parents, Elaine and Dario, she’s also mischievous and wild. “She knows when she shouldn’t be doing something,” Elaine says. “Then she gives you a look, giggles, and does it anyway.” Fiadh’s tenacity likely comes from her mother, which is a good thing. After ... Read More about For Fiadh: Pushing the envelope to treat drug-resistant epilepsy
Tagged: eeg, epilepsy, neurosurgery, seizures
Clara and her sisters, Poppy and Eleanor, go hiking with a family dog.

Clara now runs, dances, and sings along to Taylor Swift thanks to a new life-changing heart surgery

Patient Stories
The time had finally come. Only two weeks after a transformative heart operation at Boston Children’s, 11-year-old Clara Portnoy stood in a sprinter’s starting position on an open stretch of grass during her school’s field day. Surrounded by classmates and teachers, she was ready to go.  Born with a condition in which the structures on ... Read More about Clara now runs, dances, and sings along to Taylor Swift thanks to a new life-changing heart surgery
Tagged: aortic valve, biventricular repair, cardiac surgery, cardiology, Fetal Care and Surgery Center, fetal surgery, heart, heart center, heart patient, transplant

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