Health &
Wellness Library
Articles, videos and more to keep your family healthy.
Article
Luis was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the retina, when he was just 7 months old. It’s a day his mother, Crissty, will never forget for two reasons. First, the obvious: It was the day the terms cancer, chemotherapy, survival rate and prognosis entered their vocabulary. But even more than that, it was also the first time Luis called her mama. Understandably, Crissty likes to focus on the latter milestone.
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As an infant, Miguel couldn’t tell his parents that he couldn’t see very well. They noticed that he sometimes missed things he was reaching for, but they figured it was just part of his development.
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Jacob had always been noticeably bigger than his peers – a characteristic that his Pee Wee football coaches viewed as an advantage during elementary school. Some of his classmates, however, weren't always as kind.
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Desarae came to Children's Health in 2015 looking for help and support getting healthy. Her blood pressure was dangerously high and she was overweight, despite impressive efforts on her own to reach a healthier weight.
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Growing up, Addison was always a little bigger than her peers. Still, she was a happy young girl, who enjoyed riding her bike, swimming and playing on a competitive softball team that won the World Series of the Midwest in 2012.
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Katie is a creative 16-year-old who enjoys writing short stories and going to concerts. She's on the yearbook staff at school and spends most Friday nights under the lights capturing photos of her peers at football games and other school functions. As a single-leg amputee, she looks a bit different than her classmates, but if there's one thing that defines Katie, it's her independent spirit and refusal to let life's challenges keep her down.
Video
From just 12 weeks to 12 years old, four special patients received new hearts all in the same week at the Heart Center at Children’s Health℠. Watch the video above to meet Abby, Adriel, Alex and Phoenix – and celebrate their incredible journey to a renewed opportunity for a happy, healthy life.
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A mother’s intuition can be a powerful force. For Ava, it led to a life-changing diagnosis in infancy that most children don’t get until they’re at least six years old.
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When Speech Language Pathologist Crystal Scott was just a child, she had a stutter so severe it prevented her from fully fitting into society, as she puts it.
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Graduating high school is a major milestone for all teens. Whether they plan to go to college in the fall, enroll in a technical program or embark upon a career, it’s a time of significant change and transitions.
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Emily will never forget one hectic day in 2018: It started with taking her younger sons to urgent care for a rash and an earache. It ended at Children's Health℠ Emergency Department with a life-changing diagnosis for her oldest son, Eli.
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Allen High School senior Allie has loved dancing for as long as she can remember. A student at the Hathaway Academy of Ballet in Plano, she dreams of dancing professionally.
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Olivia was 26 weeks pregnant when she learned that her unborn son, Noah, had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a congenital heart defect critically affecting the left side of his heart.
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At 8-years-old, Millie’s mom describes her as a force of nature. She’s in her school’s gifted and talented program, part of the student council and loves playing soccer and basketball.
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Outside of school, 12-year-old Aliciya spends her evenings and weekends with her dance team. When they’re not practicing, they’re traveling around Texas for competitions. In school, Aliciya’s favorite subjects are history and science.
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In the summer of 2020, Carlos received the gift of a lifetime – a new heart. Karla and her husband Johnny are still in awe of what happened that day, just three months after they brought their 3-year-old son Carlos to Children's Health℠.
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Three years ago, Trinity, a teen athlete, began experiencing symptoms of anemia.
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Early on the morning of November 22, 2000, Keith and Nancy packed their five kids into the van to travel from their home in McKinney, Texas, to visit relatives in Austin for the Thanksgiving holiday. The family had recently moved to Texas and were looking forward to the trip with anticipation.
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In November 2018, Sawyer was excited for her first soccer game back after a 12-week hiatus due to a jaw injury. She had been playing soccer since she was a young child and was thrilled to earn a starting position back after her injury.
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This fall, Tonya and her husband, Craig, will pack up the car and drive their youngest son Mitchell to begin his freshman year of college.
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On Saturday, April 29, 2017, a series of deadly tornadoes touched down east of Dallas, killing four people and injuring dozens more. Parents Emily and Phillip Ocheltree, of Wills Point, Texas, were driving to a storm shelter trying to get out of harm’s way when their truck hydroplaned off the road, flipped three times and landed upside down in rushing floodwaters.
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Some transplanted organs can last for life. The kidney isn’t one of them. Charley and her family have known that ever since she was 2, when a donated kidney saved her life.
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When Pam first heard about gene therapy, she thought it sounded like science fiction. She never would have guessed her son would be among the first patients to receive an innovative new gene therapy that's giving new hope against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
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Almost a year after Emily and Dalton welcomed twins, Charlotte and William to their family, the parents have become a coordinated team managing little kids who are always in motion. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.
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When Morgan and Brooke’s first baby Emberlyn was born early at just 33 weeks, they were ecstatic that she was eating and breathing well enough that they could leave the hospital after only two and half weeks. That was a huge success for a 4-pound "preemie."
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Camilla weighed just 3 pounds when she was born prematurely in June 2015. She was immediately put on life support, and shortly after, had a stroke that affected the right side of her brain.
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On the morning of April 8, 2017, parents Kaci and Brad felt something was just "off" with their 2-week-old son, Kade. He hadn't eaten since midnight, and his color and breathing didn't seem right. So they called Kade's pediatrician for advice.
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Doctors told Lindsay and her husband Craig that some kids walk through leukemia treatment and some crawl. But the important thing is: To simply get through it.
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After Jade was diagnosed with two unrelated health conditions as a baby, her family worried if she would even be able to walk. But that’s all a distant memory to the young soccer sensation thanks to care teams at Children’s Health.
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When Nina fell critically ill two weeks into her senior year of high school, she had no idea how much she’d have to give up, including many of the foods she enjoyed.
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Give 8-year-old Riley, a stage to dance on or a sport to play and she’ll show up ready to perform. Few challenges intimidate her. The greater the learning curve, the more dedicated Riley will be.
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College sophomore Sydney’s life revolves around her online courses at Southern University (her dream school) where she’s majoring in mass communications.
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At age 35, Rob, who lives with type 1 diabetes (T1D), still sees himself as a Children’s Health℠ patient. He credits Children’s Health as one of the most essential players in the success of his health.
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Robert, a sickle cell patient at Children’s Health, is looking for a bone marrow donor. His mother writes a letter in hopes of encouraging people to participate in the National Marrow Donor Program to find the perfect match for Robert and kids like him.
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When Brentlee, age 5, was born, all signs pointed to a happy and healthy baby. Her mother Amber carried her to full-term, her delivery went smoothly and she scored great on the Apgar assessment often performed on babies at birth. It wasn’t until she began having difficulties feeding that her mom first suspected something may be amiss.
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Like many new parents, when Miguel and Jacqueline were expecting, they dreamt about their child's future. Their hopes and aspirations grew as they prepared to welcome a new life into the world – and on February 22, 2018, their baby girl, Olivia, was born.
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When Samantha was 12 weeks pregnant with her son Beaux, she and her husband, Chris, visited her doctor's office for a routine anatomy scan. For Samantha, who already had two children, it started off as a familiar appointment, identifying Beaux's hands and feet and even viewing all four chambers of his heart. But when it came time to view his other organs, Samantha's motherly intuition sensed something was wrong.
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When Daniel was 5 years old, he began experiencing chronic stomach pain and had difficulty walking after playing for a particularly long period of time. Believing that he may have a food-related allergy, his pediatrician referred Daniel to Isabel Rojas, M.D., Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Children’s Health℠ and Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern.
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When Ami was pregnant with her second child, Ireland Kate, she and her husband, Mark, assumed the experience would be similar to her first pregnancy with their son, Landry.
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When Caroline was 3 years old, she was traveling with her parents and ate a pretzel from a snack bowl containing nuts in an airport lounge. Shortly after boarding the plane, a purple rash formed around her mouth. Her parents gave her Benadryl and didn't think too much of it.
Video
Erin Hunter, RN, BSN, underwent her first open heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot, or TOF for short, when she was just nine months old. She was referred to Children's Medical Center by her physician after her mom noticed she lacked the energy of a typical infant, especially during feedings, and her fingers and lips occasionally turned blue. She would go on to have six additional open heart surgeries by the time she was 11 years old.
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On Jan. 21, 2006, 21-month-old Brayden accidentally drank a caustic chemical. The chemical caused third degree burns to his mouth, esophagus and stomach. Brayden was rushed to a local hospital in Tyler, Texas, where he was sedated and put on a ventilator to help him breath. The medical team there contacted Children's Health℠, requesting help due to the serious nature of Brayden's injury.
Video
Davion is a high school student who enjoys spending time with family and friends. He loves sports, especially football, which he has played since he was 4 years old. As a junior, Davion played middle linebacker and was varsity captain. But a few months after the season ended, the talented athlete got unexpected news: He had cancer.
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Anthony has always been an active child. He's played a variety of sports since he was 4 years old and never had any major medical concerns growing up. So when he started losing weight shortly before his 11th birthday, his parents, Laura and Raul, became concerned.
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Lily spends every moment she can dancing with her studio. From hip hop to ballroom to tap, she competes in all types of dance. She's been a junior Texas Legends dancer, a mini Dallas Cowboy cheerleader and has placed in the top 10 of solo competitions.
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Shylynne, known as "Shy" to her friends and family, has loved horses for as long as she can remember. She got her first horse, Shirley, to ride around in her backyard when she was just 4 years old. Around the time she turned 6, she discovered her passion: competitive barrel racing. This rodeo event for women times a rider while she completes a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels, showcasing the athleticism and skill of both the horse and the rider.
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Planes, trains and automobiles are just a few of Matthew's interests. He spends his days playing outside with his older brother, and his parents describe him as a happy child. You'd never know he fought courageously for his life – before he was even born.
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Easton was 4 years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It was a day his mother, Lexie, will never forget. "He had been feeling off for the last few months – always hungry, constantly thirsty and several nighttime accidents," she says. "We just figured he was going through a growth spurt."