Nine months ago, Annie and Ben Grayshan got the news no parents ever want to hear, “Your child has cancer.” Their son Ethan was 7 years old when recurring vomiting led to a visit with his pediatrician in April 2022. His doctor suspected a stomach bug. The vomiting persisted and Ethan was sent for allergy testing and then to a GI specialist. After starting antibiotics for a potential parasite, Ethan began to experience fatigue and headaches, common side effects of the antibiotics. But after a few days with no improvement, his parents took him to an ER where a CT scan showed a mass on Ethan’s brain. The Grayshans were then airlifted to the ER at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. Within 48 hours he had undergone two brain surgeries. One to relieve the hydrocephalus, which had been causing his symptoms, and another to remove the tumor. A diagnosis of […]

Win or lose, 15-year-old Capucine Jauffret never gives up. Her mom and dad, Jennifer and Christophe, attribute Capucine’s instinctive determination to a time when she had to fight for her life—a time Capucine won’t remember, and her parents won’t ever forget. When Capucine was born, doctors heard loud murmurs in her heart and diagnosed her with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, which causes oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and into the rest of the body. At just 17-days-old, Capucine had life-saving open heart surgery to repair her heart. “We are incredibly blessed the doctors were able to perform the operation before Capucine had any significant problems,” said Jennifer. “Fortunately, technology changed, and we didn’t have to wait until she was older and her heart was bigger like other children with this condition have in the past.” “I was thrilled and delighted to hear about […]

Nemours joined the Children’s Hospital Association and children’s hospitals from across the country to advocate on Capitol Hill for continued federal support for the CHGME program.

The gluten free diet has become a popular diet trend over recent years. The most common conditions that require a gluten free diet include celiac disease, wheat allergy, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, gluten ataxia, and dermatitis herpetiformis. Some individuals may choose to adhere to a gluten free diet for other reasons. Gluten is the protein found in the grains wheat, rye, and barley. A gluten free diet requires avoidance of these grains. When foods are removed from the diet, it can make it more difficult to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, so if gluten is removed from the diet it is important to do so with the guidance of  a Registered Dietitian. The purpose of this article is to clear up some common misconceptions surrounding gluten and the gluten free diet. Do I need to avoid all gluten if I have a wheat allergy? -No. Only the grain, wheat, needs […]

Help your child explore new flavors and learn to love their vegetables with these few simple tips! Increase Exposure• Increase exposure to different vegetables at meals and snacks multiple times a day• It can take 10-15 times trying a food before learning if you like it, so don’t get discouraged and stay persistent• Start with very small portions of new vegetables at first• Be a role model for your kids and eat your vegetables at meals and talk about how good they taste Get your kids involved• Ask your kids what vegetables they want to try or give them a choice between two vegetables• Have your kids pick the sauces, spices, or herbs for the dish• Have your kids describe the flavors and textures of the vegetables they try Experiment with cooking techniques• Try roasting vegetables to bring out their natural sweetness and make them crisp• Sauté or stir-fry vegetables […]

At mom’s 20-week ultrasound, doctors discovered that baby Lorenzo had a cleft lip, creating anxiety for his expecting parents. “We didn’t know what to expect from the diagnosis, were scared of the unknown, and afraid our son would struggle with feeding,” said Lorenzo’s mom, Eneily. The Center for Fetal Care and the Division of Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida worked together to comfort and reassure Lorenzo’s family. “Our experience with Nemours has been a true blessing to us. They took us by our hands and guided us,” said Eneily. “The care we received since we met Dr. Taboada, our Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, has been excellent, and we were treated with love, patience, and respect. During each visit, Dr. Taboada would reassure us, saying, ‘Your son is perfect, and you will love his smile.’ She was right. I loved his first smile so much, and I love his […]