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Grow Inspiring: Natalia’s Story The staff at the hospital where Natalia Rodriguez Sabala was born hadn’t seen a patient like her in seven years. She was born with cloacal exstrophy, also known as OEIS syndrome: Her bladder and portions of her large intestine were on the outside of her belly, and her bladder was
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“He Has His Life Back”: Ben’s Story 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
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If Your Baby May Arrive Early: What to Know About Premature Birth By Annmarie Golioto, MD, IBCLC, FAAP: Most families expect their baby to arrive around their due date. But sometimes, babies are born a lot earlier than planned for any number of reasons. If your doctor has told you that your baby may come early and need a NICU stay, you may feel scared or unsure of what happens next
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Cole’s Story: Growing Again After Crohn’s Disease By Jeffrey Hyams, MD: For most of his childhood, Cole looked like he was right on track. The youngest of three kids, he hovered around the middle of the growth charts and kept up with his siblings and classmates. But when he hit his teens, something didn’t follow the usual pattern. Between ages 13 and
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$1 Million Gift Establishes the Schilberg Family Playroom in Connecticut Children’s New Advanced Cellular & Gene Therapy Unit Hartford, CT—Connecticut Children’s, the state’s only health system 100% dedicated to children’s well-being, has received a $1 million gift from Bernie and Beth Schilberg to support the hospital’s new eight-story clinical tower and the expansion of facilities and services across
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8 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month with Kids February is Black History Month. The month honors the cultures and contributions of Black Americans in the United States. It provides a great opportunity to teach children about the history of the month and try out new activities to build appreciation and allyship for others
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Gardening With Kids: How to Plan, Grow & Enjoy a Garden By Stacy Chandna, MS, CIP: This article was originally published in 2021 and has been updated for accuracy. Your family may be dreaming up a spring or summertime bucket list. A garden project is a perfect addition! Stacy Chandna, Director of the Office of Research and Quality Assurance, joins the blog with
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Beyond Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID): Aria’s Story In August 2021, Shauna and Tim Barrett were enjoying the first days of newborn bliss with their second child, Aria, when they received a life-changing call from their pediatrician. Aria’s newborn screen had returned abnormal results. This single phone call would alter everything
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Beyond a Brain Tumor: Ciri's Story For a few weeks, she’d been getting the same call from the school nurse. Her daughter, Ciri, had vomited again during class. No fever. No sniffles. No explanation. The pediatrician guessed anxiety. That didn’t seem right to Krysti, though. Ciri, then 8 years old, seemed so at
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Honoring Pride Month With Kids Pride Month provides an opportunity to teach children about the tremendous contributions and accomplishments of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) during past and present times. At Connecticut Children
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Beyond Heart Failure at 2 Months Old: Crew's Journey Following a series of concerning symptoms, a diagnosis of SVT-induced cardiomyopathy became a reality for baby Crew, Mom and Dad. Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) happens when the heart beats too quickly. Because of this, the heart doesn’t work as well and can eventually cause
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Innovating with Purpose: Lessons Learned from Team Members By Jacquelyn Rose, MPH: This is the fourth article in our Innovating with Purpose series, which describes Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health’s journey to create and nurture a culture of innovation. Innovating with purpose is critical to an organization’s success. As you can imagine Article
10 Ways to Get Your Teen (and Family) to Try a Digital Detox Last year, with schools closed due to COVID-19 and quarantine in full swing, many teens became even more glued to their screens. In many ways, that was OK: Teens are wired to be social, and social media helped them stay connected to friends. Technology was essential for remote
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Beyond Cardiac Critical Care: Joseph’s Story By Monika Gupta, MD: Every evening, when it was time to return home to their eight other children, parents Katie and Dan steeled themselves to say goodnight to their youngest. Their newborn son, Joseph, had been born with multiple heart defects, and was now in Connecticut Children’s pediatric
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Addressing the Root Causes of Racism, Discrimination and Bias The annual Juneteenth celebration provides an important opportunity for all of us to reflect on the progress we have made individually and as a society in addressing racial and social injustice, while also acknowledging the tremendous work that still lies ahead to eliminate