Pediatrics
June 23, 2022
By Joel Streed 
From the beginning of Hussein’s life, a shroud of worry surrounded him. Something was wrong. The infant couldn’t keep down anything he ate. When he was 6 weeks old, his mother, Manal, noticed blood in his stool. He lost precious weight and was hospitalized due to failure to thrive. Hussein’s first few months were defined […]
Tags: Dr. Ann Moyer, Familial Mediterranean Fever, Mayo Clinic Laboratories
June 9, 2022
A new heart, new hope for a newborn
Travis Heidt was holding his son, Franklin, for the first time. “It was a very joyous time and also an overwhelming time,” says the first-time parent. He was unsure of how to hold Franklin, unsure of how to care for him. But Travis knew that he and his wife, Morgan, would figure it out. They […]
Tags: Dr. Elizabeth Stephens, Dr. Jason Anderson, Dr. Joseph Dearani, Franklin Heidt, Heart transplant, Morgan Heidt, Travis Heidt
May 26, 2022
Celebrating 10-years with a new heart – just like her big sister
Linsey Rippy was 16 weeks pregnant with her second child when she learned her daughter, Madi, had dilated cardiomyopathy. She was just two-and-a-half years old. “Our hospital in the Twin Cities ran every genetic test on Madi, but nothing came up,” Linsey said. “She’d had a virus a few weeks before, so they figured that’s […]
Tags: Dilated Cardiomyopathy, ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Heart transplant, Linsey Rippy, Madi Rippy, Noel Rippy, Sydney Rippy
March 24, 2022
Thankful for Tygh: The Derossett Family
Arriving full-term amidst a flurry of excitement, Tygh Derossett’s birth at a Kentucky hospital in 2016 mimicked that of most newborns. He cried, he received Apgar scoring, and he got a bath. On his second day of life, Tygh’s health care team took a few drops of his blood and sent it to Kentucky’s newborn […]
Tags: Aarron Derossett, Amanda Derossett, Krabbe disease, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Newborn screening, Tygh Derossett
March 17, 2022
‘I have to run:’ Teenage cross-country star back on course after brain surgery
When Nolan Hemmen laces-up his running shoes these days, he can’t help but think how far he’s come since having brain surgery. It was November 2019, just a few weeks after Nolan turned 16 and got his driver’s licence, he noticed his arms going numb. “I would scratch my arm and not feel anything,” says […]
Tags: Brain surgery, Chiari Malformation, Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, Jacksonville, MayoClinicFL, Neurosurgery, Nolan Hemmens
March 14, 2022
3-year-old takes on rare cancer with a little help from his friends
Proton beam therapy benefits patients with tumors located next to critical organs with potentially fewer severe side effects and complications, compared to other forms of radiation therapy. This is especially important for children with cancer ― children like 3-year-old Rhett Flaten who in May became the 5,000th patient to receive the cutting-edge treatment since the […]
Tags: Dr. Safia Ahmed, Ewing Sarcoma, Katie Flaten, Kyle Flaten, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Proton Beam Therapy, Rhett Flaten
July 22, 2021
When Sara Hutchins noticed an indent in her daughter Scarlett’s chest, she immediately recognized the cause: pectus excavatum, a condition that causes the breast bone to sink into the chest. A family member had the same condition, Sara says. “He’d had surgery to correct it but was never satisfied with his results.” Sara wanted to […]
Tags: Dean Potter, Dr. Potter, Mayo Children's Center, pectus excavatum, scarlett hutchins
June 20, 2021
Father’s Day will be extra-special this year for the Teeples family in La Crosse, Wisconsin. After spending much of his two years in a hospital bed with a rare kidney disease, toddler Easton Teeples has returned home from Mayo Clinic after a lifesaving transplant from dear old dad. It’s a special bond between father and […]
Tags: congential nephrotic syndrome, Dr. Mikel Prieto, Easton Teeples, kidney disease, kidney transplant, Living-donor kidney donation, Steve Teeples
May 27, 2021
Hyperbaric treatment speeds healing after cleft palate surgery
Before Kael Jaeger was born, his 20-week ultrasound revealed to his parents, Jacy and Jesse Jaeger, that he had a cleft lip and palate. As the couple adjusted to this new reality, his care team stepped up and created a plan for repairing this common birth defect. A cleft lip and palate are openings or […]
Tags: cleft lip and palate, Dr. Shelagh Cofer, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Jacy Jaeger, Jesse Jaeger, Kael Jaeger
March 4, 2021
Volunteer’s gift provides warming comfort for young boy after head injury
When a head injury landed young Andrew Holmquist in the Emergency Department, a blanket made by a hospital volunteer provided comfort through exams, scans, a ride in an air ambulance, and throughout his recovery. A blanket is just a piece of cloth stitched together, but it can be so much more. Especially when it’s given […]
Tags: Dr. Brent Bjorklund, Dr. Denise Klinkner, Dr. Mark Mannenbach, Karen Elwood, Mayo Clinic Children's Center, Pediatric Trauma Center