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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 […]

For children who are navigating serious medical concerns, staying on top of schoolwork can be challenging. That’s why the Hospital School Program at Nemours Children’s Hospital, FL, is dedicated to promoting educational success for children in our care. Our hospital-based teacher provides individualized instruction and school liaison services to support patients’ educational needs during hospitalization and upon return to school. The Hospital School Program is enhanced by our teacher internship program, called PedsAcademy®, for students enrolled at the University of Central Florida (UCF). PedsAcademy, developed in partnership between Nemours Children’s Health and UCF’s School of Teacher Education, is designed to better prepare future educators for teaching children with chronic and complex medical needs. Teacher interns from UCF provide individualized instruction to patients (PK-12) while receiving specialized training about how to support students affected by chronic health conditions. The PedsAcademy program enables Nemours to serve an increased number of patients, including their siblings, […]

After dating for ten years and recently married, Brandi and Brian Jones were ready to have children. They had always dreamed of having twins – hoping for a “one and done” pregnancy – although multiples were not part of their family history. Both knew it wouldn’t be easy.  Brandi had been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which could make it challenging to get pregnant. Even with the diagnosis of PCOS, they prayed not only to get pregnant but to get pregnant with twins. To assess her fertility, Brandi’s OB suggested she get an ovulation test. No one was more surprised than Brandi herself when the test revealed her ovulation levels were off the charts.  Her OB confirmed she was pregnant with one baby. The couple was elated that God had answered their prayers. They soon began regular visits with their OB. At a routine ultrasound, two weeks later, Brian and […]

In honor of Doctors’ Day, we’re shining a spotlight on this remarkable team of medical professionals! Dr. Ken Baker and Dr. Bevin Weeks are not only talented doctors, but also a married couple that both work for Nemours Children’s Health. When they were younger, both Dr. Baker and Dr. Weeks had positions working at Yale. While the Pediatric Cardiology Echo Lab and Pediatric Radiology reading room were located along the same hallway, they hadn’t actually met until a mutual colleague decided to introduce them. “Fun fact,” says Dr. Weeks, “This was back in the days when Dr. Moss also worked at Yale and it was his PA who was the mutual colleague!” In late 2019, the couple realized that Pensacola was home for them and made the decision to move back to Pensacola, FL. Dr. Weeks and Dr. Baker knew that they wanted to be part of Nemours and the […]