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Before he was even born, MJ Strickland was diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type IV Severe (OI), a disease causing symptoms such as easily broken bones. Growing up with OI, MJ hasn’t always had the best experiences with doctors, nurses, etc. When he saw them, MJ was usually scared and in pain. When the Stricklands were trying to find quality orthopedic care for MJ with someone that is experienced with OI, they found Dr. Stall at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida. When MJ began working with Dr. Stall and his team, everything changed. “MJ has a special place in his heart for his Nemours team,” say the Stricklands. “Obviously, Dr. Stall is his bestest buddy. I’ve never seen him be so chummy with any of his medical team like he is with him. You can tell that all of MJ’s caregivers at Nemours have a genuine interest and concern for him. They […]

Aaron, an 11-year-old boy with Bruck Syndrome, a type of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, underwent a major leg surgery and completed a three-month rehabilitation process.

In celebration of Nurses Week at Nemours Children’s Health, we are so excited to highlight one of our dynamic father-daughter duos, John and Sarah Gossman! John began his nursing career with us on the transport team at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. He fell in love with Nemours Children’s and knew that it was where he was meant to be. When his daughter, Sarah, became a nurse as well, John recommended she make the move to Nemours so she could grow with the organization. When they were both working as nurses at our hospital in Delaware, they would sometimes bump into each other! “While I was on the transport team,” says John, “On occasion I would either bring cardiac kids to 2B or the CICU where Sarah was working.  I would also pick-up Sarah’s cardiac kids that would be going home for the first time.” The pair have also been known […]

After Troy was born, he was struggling to breathe. His mother Holli alerted the labor and delivery nurses, and they responded by checking his pulse, noticing that it was abnormal. Holli’s life was turned upside down when she was told that Troy had to be transferred out of state from Cape May, NJ to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware to get the care that he would need. He was born with an interrupted aortic arch, a rare congenital heart defect that happens when the aorta doesn’t form completely. At just 6 days old, and due to his small size, Troy had a procedure to place bands around his pulmonary arteries and a stent the ductus arteriosus, to control the excessive amount of blood going to his lungs and to provide circulation to the lower body, performed by pediatric cardiac surgeon, Dr. Christian Pizarro. Then, at 6 months old, Dr. […]

Kaii was diagnosed with a serious congenital heart defect while still in the womb. With the help of experts at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware, Kaii is healthy and meeting his developmental milestones

While performing a vault in her gymnastics competition, 14-year-old Saylor suffered a serious injury that would flip her world upside down. After completing the vault, Saylor’s ankle was immediately hurt, and she was unable to place any weight on it. With another gymnastics competition quickly approaching, Saylor sought medical attention straight away.  She visited numerous doctors and underwent several MRIs with no progress. During this time, the pain Saylor was experiencing in her foot began to spread to her leg and back. After visiting a local neurologist, Saylor was determined to have Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (excess and prolonged pain and inflammation that follows an injury). It was then that Saylor was referred to Dr. Santana-Rojas at Nemours Children’s Health. After evaluation from Dr. Santana-Rojas and her team, it was determined that Saylor also had a severe case of Functional Neurologic Disorder. “Functional Neurological Disorder had completely removed me from […]