Dani has spent the past five years navigating life with Poland Syndrome. Diagnosed at 14, Dani’s journey took her from feeling insecure about her body to embracing newfound confidence, all with the help of the compassionate team at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. Poland Syndrome is a condition characterized by the underdevelopment or absence of chest muscles. For Dani, it began to significantly affect her during puberty. “It really started to affect me when I realized that my left breast was not growing as my other one was,” shares Dani. This physical difference impacted her self-esteem, especially during the summer when finding a bathing suit seemed impossible. “It made me very insecure, and it was hard to find confidence within myself,” she shares. Simple activities like shopping for summer shirts or feeling comfortable at the beach became daunting challenges. Dani’s connection to Nemours Children’s began with her sister, who had been […]

When Raelyn and James went for their 20-week ultrasound in December 2022, they were expecting to hear that everything was progressing perfectly with their baby boy. For the most part, things were. However, during the scan, the doctor and nurse discovered something unexpected—a cleft lip. They explained that their son, Evander, would be born with a unilateral cleft lip, and there was a chance he could also have a cleft palate. For Raelyn, this news was overwhelming. As a new mom unfamiliar with clefts, she found herself navigating a whole new world. “I knew nothing about clefts before this,” she shares. “I spent a lot of time researching and preparing for any outcome.” Raelyn devoted herself to learning as much as she could, connecting with other families and educating herself about what lay ahead. Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, was the first recommendation Raelyn and James received from their local doctor. […]

Explore Griffin’s inspiring journey with complex medical conditions and how his family found hope at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.

Between colds, the flu, and other viruses, lots of kids get sick in the fall. This year it could be due to a lung infection called walking pneumonia that’s becoming more common, especially in young children. It’s also known as mycoplasma pneumonia since it’s often caused by the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae. While usually mild, it can still make kids uncomfortable and cause breathing problems. Here’s what you need to know about this rising health issue. What is walking pneumonia? Walking pneumonia is a kind of bacterial infection that affects the lungs. It tends to cause milder symptoms than other forms of pneumonia, so children who have it feel well enough to walk around instead of staying in bed. This is why it’s called “walking pneumonia.” How common is walking pneumonia in kids? Each year, about 2 million people get walking pneumonia. Since spring, the infection has been more common than […]

Marcella was born prematurely at another hospital in May of 2023. She had a fairly uneventful first month, until she developed Necrotizing Enterocolitis at 4 weeks. She had her feeds stopped, was put on the ventilator because her stomach was so swollen it was affecting her breathing, and IV antibiotics were started. But the disease had already progressed too far, and she continued to go downhill fast. Two days after the diagnosis she was transferred to the Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware NICU, and the following afternoon she had her first exploratory laparotomy. Things were looking very bleak after this first surgery. Her intestines were put into a silo, basically a clear bag that held them outside of her body so doctors could visualize what the tissue looked like. Based on what they saw, it was very likely that she would not survive as all the tissue appeared to be dead. That […]

Aubri’s journey at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida, is a testament to her resilience and the impact of specialized care. Aubri struggled for over a year with severe gastrointestinal issues, unable to keep food down. Her condition was so dire that she relied on feeding tubes to survive. “Aubri had an emergency tube placed in her nose and later in her stomach directly,” shares her mother, Alanda. “That was her only source of food for so long! It was awful! She was in so much pain and nauseous all the time, everything was hard.” The situation was grim, and their local hospitals seemed unable to provide the answers or care that Aubri desperately needed. The turning point came when Alanda learned about Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida and Dr. Poulos. “It was an absolute Godsend,” she says. A friend, who had glowing experiences with Nemours Children’s, inspired Alanda to seek out the […]