Stories & Outcomes

Discharge days are bittersweet at Blythedale Children's Hospital. While we miss the children we become so close to over the course of their treatment, our hearts soar when they are able to return to their families and their communities. We are proud to share some of their stories.

A Journey of Hope

"No family ever expects to be in this situation. You just don't think it can happen to you." Did you know 45% of our patients are under the age of one? Follow the extraordinary journeys of a few of Blythedale's smallest and most fragile infants, as their families prepare to bring them home... for...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Specialized Feeding
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Micro Preemie
  • Congenital Heart Disease
  • Acquired Brain Injury

Wondrous Wadeem

International Heart Transplant Patient's Journey Spans Continents for Cardiac & Pulmonary Care

How far would you go for the best medical care for your child? For five-year-old Wadeem and her family, the answer was half a world away. Diagnosed with complex congenital heart disease at birth, Wadeem underwent multiple cardiac reparative surgeries in her home country of Saudi Arabia and, later...

Tags:

  • Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Complex Chronic Conditions
  • Congenital Heart Disease
  • Chronic Lung Disease

Amazing Abby Overcomes Cardiac and Pulmonary Challenges

Nearly One, Infant Heads Home for the First Time

Abby has always amazed her parents and medical teams. The full-term baby was born in April 2017 with a prenatal diagnosis of an atrioventricular canal (AVC) defect and critical coarctation, both congenital heart defects. And within the span of only nine days, Abby underwent two reparative heart...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Congenital Heart Disease

Raelynn's Road to Recovery

Bubble CPAP Offers Non-Invasive Ventilation Treatment for Preemie

Four-month-old Raelynn – born at just 24-weeks gestation - is heading home for the first time. It’s been a complicated journey for first-time mom, Raveen, but one that was made easier thanks to the support she and Raelynn received at Blythedale Children’s Hospital. During her 117-day NICU stay...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
  • Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Preemie

Bringing Demi Home

My Blythedale Experience

Our daughter Demi was diagnosed with Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma, a rare brain tumor found in children. Once diagnosed in the ER, Demi had to undergo an emergency surgery to have a ventricular drain placed into her skull in order to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid that accumulated due to the...

Tags:

  • Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Astrocytoma
  • Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (JPA)

Cara's Story

My Blythedale Experience

My name is Cara Macdonald, and I am a former patient at Blythedale. I believe it was Dr. Rackley, my neuropsychologist, who asked me, as part of a series of simple questions to test my awareness, who the president of the United States was. I still think back today about how shocked I was, even in...

Tags:

  • Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Malka on the Move

When eight-year-old Malka arrived at Blythedale last October, she was a trailblazer in her own right. Malka was born with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart's ability to pump blood is decreased because the heart's left ventricle is enlarged and weakened. Despite her previously...

Tags:

  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
  • Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)

Hopeful Karla & Her Son

My Blythedale Experience

Blythedale is a magical place with very special people working in every department. My family’s experience from admission to discharge one we will treasure forever….it was priceless. We will always cherish our memories in the month of October 2013. My autistic son has late stage Lyme Disease and...

Tags:

  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Autism

Blythedale Helps Zoey, and her Mom, Breathe a Little Easier

Zoey has a smile that lights up a room. The exuberant thirteen-month old was born via emergency caesarean section after she and her mother, Melanie, were involved in a car accident. Delivered at just 25-weeks gestation, Zoey - considered a "micro-preemie" - weighed a mere 1 lb., 7 oz. birth. In...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Micro Preemie
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)

Peter On the Move Again

In August of this last year, a previously healthy and very active five-year-old Peter was diagnosed with a tumor on his spine. A mere week after his diagnosis, and following complicated surgery, Peter was admitted to Blythedale's Yellow Unit for comprehensive inpatient therapy. His family's greatest...

Tags:

  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Seizure Disorders