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Patient Stories

For the past year, Dr. Peter Gabos, pediatric spine surgeon at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., has been traveling to Belize City, Belize, with Spine Overseas. This nonprofit organization brings together healthcare, education, and technology in order to provide contemporary spine surgery and care in places where this care doesn’t currently exist. Through the generous support of multiple medical device and equipment companies, Spine Overseas has been able to bring state-of-the-art technology to Central America. “I joined Spine Overseas when adult spine surgeon [and Spine Overseas cofounder] Dr. John Williams told me they needed a pediatric surgeon to help kids with severe spinal deformities in Belize City,” says Dr. Gabos. “When I read their mission statement, I jumped at the opportunity.” Meeting a Friend for Life One child Dr. Gabos recently helped is 8-year-old Alex, who was previously diagnosed with asthma due to significant difficulty breathing. But […]

For over 40 years, Nemours Biomedical Research has hosted a highly motivated and talented cadre of undergraduate research students during the summer months, and this year we added another success story. From June through August, 32 students had the opportunity to participate in research projects with our scientists and clinicians. The research projects were diverse and ranged from epidemiologic, to basic topics. During the 10-week program, students attended weekly seminars, participated in a student-run journal club, shadowed physicians, visited the Nemours Estate, and most importantly, gained hands-on experience conducting research procedures. Nemours Faculty and Associates mentored students through the research process: formulating research questions and hypotheses, navigating the IRB if appropriate, learning required procedures and skills, following protocols, and analyzing and interpreting data. At the end of the program, students had three opportunities to present their research findings. The first was at the newly instated Nemours Summer Undergraduate Research Student […]

A hospital stay can be a challenging experience for patients and their families. For children used to the comforts of their home and bedroom, the environment in a hospital can feel strange or foreign. Often, the arts can help make time in the hospital less stressful. So the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s Creative Arts Therapy team developed an Arts in Medicine program as a way to help patients and families feel more at ease while they visit and/or stay at the hospital. This spring, the Arts in Medicine program welcomed visiting artist Catherine Czerwinski to work with patients and families in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Catherine’s project focused on the installation of a mural in the PICU solarium. The mural project was inspired by the experiences of patients, families and staff from the PICU. Together, they were involved in the creation of the mural. The process […]

A brave contingent of donors had their heads shaved to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer at a recent Nemours-sponsored St. Baldrick’s Foundation event, held at Iron Hill Brewery on the Wilmington Riverfront. St. Baldrick’s supports the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children by supplying all new patients and their families with a “day pack” filled with bilingual resource materials to help guide them through the overwhelming experience of a childhood cancer diagnosis. Among the “shavees” was Candice Morris, a home health nurse from Magnolia, Del., who was inspired by one of her young patients’ bravery in the face of cancer. About 30 minutes after Candice submitted to the razor, her mother and son went for it, too! Many thanks to the volunteer stylists from Currie of Wilmington, Iron Hill for providing a private room, and event organizers/Nemours oncology nurses Nicole Roselli and […]

The guests arrived at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s 2016 “Fire and Ice” prom in glittering gowns and sharp suits, groomed to perfection and shivering a little on a breezy April evening. They exited classic cars that had chauffeured them to the hospital, letting their illness take a back seat on this festive evening. They danced, posed for photos, laughed and reveled with nearly 100 fellow Nemours patients who are facing or recovering from serious health concerns. The Nemours prom, a labor of love for dedicated staff and volunteers, is now in its fourth year. Teens with cancer, sickle cell disease, heart and kidney disease, and other conditions are treated to a themed extravaganza that rivals any high school prom. An outpouring of community support ensures the guests enjoy a wonderful event at no cost to their families. Dresses, tuxedos, makeup and hair styling, food, decorations, gifts, music and photography are […]

Injury Prevention for the Throwing Athlete…Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes…Sport Specialization – Avoiding the Pitfalls of Too Much Time in One Sport…Concussions in Youth Sports…These are just a few of the talks that I have given over the past five years to parents and coaches of young athletes. As the manager of the sports therapy program at the Nemours Center for Sports Medicine, I have seen, firsthand, all of the problems that can accompany the increasingly high demands of youth sports. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to speak with these groups about what they can do to try to reduce the chance of their little athlete becoming another statistic in the growing epidemic of injured youth athletes. Talking to parents is especially gratifying, and I would prepare by pouring over the ever-growing research being published on the causes of overuse injuries and what can be done to prevent them. All […]