Connecticut Children's Blog

When 5-year-old Sofia Cortese hears she won’t be going into school today – whether from a doctor’s appointment, school holiday or because classes will be online this week – she has a predictable reaction. “She’ll say, ‘But my friends are going to miss me!’” says mom Renata. And she’s right. Everyone in Sofia’s school building […]

When she was 12 years old, Lindsay Fritz wrote a letter to her future self. “Don’t worry, you got this,” she wrote. “You are bent, not broken.” The year before, a routine physical had revealed a curve in her spine, and she’d been referred to Connecticut Children’s for X-rays. The diagnosis: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. On […]

Depending on which day you ask her, 6-year-old Lily will tell you that she wants to be a ballerina or a firefighter when she grows up. But those professions require standing up straight, and until two years ago, Lily couldn’t. She was born with a spine so severely curved to the side that it looked […]

It was a pneumonia diagnosis that revealed a 30-degree curve in young Sabella’s spine at the age of 6. She was referred to Connecticut Children’s Orthopedics division where she was followed closely by Jeff Thomson, MD, for years before she underwent spinal fusion surgery to correct her debilitating scoliosis. Now a teenager, Sabella’s love for […]

Joshua was born in 2006 with spina bifida, which led him to develop severe scoliosis by the time he was three. His previous providers had tried bracing, but he was in and out of surgery for other conditions so often that he could not wear the brace consistently. In 2009, he was recommended as Connecticut […]

It can happen in almost any sport. For Khyon Gillespie, it was football. He was 12 years old and already an up-and-coming football prodigy. His whole life revolved around the sport, along with his plans for the future. But an instant of twisting the wrong way in a game had left him with a torn […]

Tony and Dawn Velez had tried everything to have a child, including in vitro fertilization seven times, but nothing worked, so they finally gave up trying and accepted the reality of their situation. As Dawn puts it, “We said, ‘That’s it; it’s just going to be us and dogs, and we’re OK with that. We’ll […]

When it comes to Irish dance competitions, Irish eyes are smiling on 16-year-old Bridget Souriyamath. Bridget, who has been taking Irish dance lessons for the past 12 years, has fared well at local and regional competitions. But it was her participation in the McInerney Championship Feis in Worcester, Mass., on Oct. 29, 2016, that was […]

The road to graduation was a long one for 18-year-old Shannon Reilly, but this past June, this inspiring young dancer and Senior Class President defied all odds and walked across the stage to receive her diploma. It was a moment her mother, Marguerite, captured on film and later shared with Dr. William Zempsky, division head […]