Connecticut Children's Blog

Since he was a little kid, John Kostal dreamed of flying. At 21 years old, he was on the verge of achieving it as part of the United States Air Force. Then he got the bad news. After years of working toward a coveted pilot’s slot, his medical exams had detected a lingering heart problem… […]

It was Xavier Crane’s first soccer game after open heart surgery — but most of the people in the stands had no clue. Neither did the opposing team. He was playing better than ever. Xavier’s mom, Beth, was another story. She’d enlisted Xavier’s sister to come with her for moral support. Every time Xavier was […]

Connecticut Children’s new Westport Specialty Care Center already has a happy family. John B. Jr. — “JJ” to his family — is a giggly, boisterous 16-month-old from Stratford. Every couple months, he’ll visit the Neurosurgery team at the new Westport center, which opened its doors Dec. 15. This high-tech space is designed to feel welcoming and […]

Last summer, 3-year-old Kaitlyn Duong caught a common virus. It should’ve amounted to nothing more than a typical childhood flu. She was prescribed rest and fluids; a dose of antibiotics when the doctor heard a touch of pneumonia. No major cause for concern. But then her breathing pattern changed. Mom Cammie stood by Kaitlyn’s bed […]

In September 2019, Ellen and Jon Lindblom traveled to China to bring home the newest member of their family — Ayla, then a shy 6-year-old. They carried a letter from Connecticut Children’s Felice Heller, MD, urging the agency to expedite the adoption so Ayla could get immediate medical care. Not three months later, China shut […]

There’s never a good time for your child to need urgent care. But it’s really, really not a good time when you’re about to leave for vacation. Two days before his family’s big trip to Marco Island, Florida, 7-year-old Tyler Grad fell off a slide at his school playground. He and the slide had a […]

Krystin Sylva always says her twins came into the world like a storm. Kali and Jada were 28-week preemies born during an actual ice storm in January – at 3:33 am, three seconds apart. They started life in the NICU at Danbury Hospital, receiving care from Connecticut Children’s neonatology experts thanks to an innovative Care […]

Last summer, Ben Kline couldn’t make it from the kitchen to his bedroom without hugging the wall. He was having trouble balancing. He had a constant headache. He was so sensitive to light, he had to stop playing video games. He was so sensitive to sound, his younger sister stopped having friends over. He lost […]

At 17 weeks pregnant, Ashley Donnelly’s water broke. She wasn’t even halfway through a full-term pregnancy. At her Ob/Gyn’s office, and then with her maternal fetal medicine team, the experts gently prepared her for the worst. “I could see it on everybody’s faces,” she says. “They couldn’t believe I was still pregnant.” There was nothing […]

In 2019, a very pregnant Kristina Gisonde studied two dots on her latest ultrasound. The dots represented her baby’s kidneys, and they were different sizes – not a good sign. Her doctor recommended that, soon after birth, they see a specialist at Connecticut Children’s. Kristina and husband Matt had just moved to Fairfield County with […]