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  • How My Son’s Cancer Battle Has Shaped Our Family

    A couple months after Nathan’s second birthday, we noticed he was limping. At first, we thought he’d maybe hurt his leg while playing with his older brother. Still, he didn’t really complain of pain, so we didn’t think much of it. But one night while he was lying on my lap, I noticed a trail of lumps behind both his ears. The combination of symptoms led us to visit his pediatrician. Nathan’s X-rays came back normal, but later that afternoon, we returned to discuss his bloodwork results.

  • Ruby Makes a Difference with the Teen Leadership Council

    Having a chronic disease, with frequent hospital visits, is always challenging. Particularly for teenagers who can feel isolated from their peers during their illness. For Ruby, it was no different. At the age of 16, she came to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children with a diagnosis of gastroparesis and severe dysmotility of the GI tract. In other words, her digestive system didn’t properly move food from the stomach to the small intestine.

  • Recognizing and Treating Your Child’s Congenital Heart Defect

    Learning that your baby has a congenital heart defect can be scary, and while health challenges can exist, the outlook for most children is positive. Although congenital heart defects are serious, most types of the disease can be treated, allowing your child to live a productive and fulfilling life.

  • 5 Ways to Keep Your Kids Active in Bad Weather

    If you can’t take young children to a park or allow them to run around the neighborhood, consider coordinating with other nearby parents for playtime. Encouraging your children to have friends over can lead to indoor games of tag, hide and seek, and even more unique activities. Just make sure to take any screens away, which can diminish imaginative play. 

  • Kids (and Adults)—Wash Your Hands!

    From turning door knobs to pushing elevator buttons to sharing toys at a playdate, children are constantly touching items that are covered with germs. And then, when they touch areas like their noses, eyes and mouth, they introduce those germs to their bodies, which can make them sick.  Think of your child picking up germs while touching the handle of a grocery cart, then popping their thumb into their mouth or rubbing their eyes.

  • 4 Common Myths (and the Truth) About Pediatric Palliative Care

    In the past, pediatric palliative care has been misunderstood. In fact, although this comprehensive program seeks to improve the quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions — as well as support their families — myths still abound. This is likely due to the program’s multi-faceted approach to care.

  • A Day in the Life of a Child Life Specialist

    For a child life specialist at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, no two days are the same. The Child Life Program offers

  • What you should know if your child is double-jointed?

    As an occupational therapist, I work with kids and their parents who have been told they have joint hypermobility, sometimes known as being “double jointed.” This might make it sound like the child has twice as many joints, but it simply means that a child’s joint is moving past the expected range. Joint hypermobility occurs when the soft tissues that surround and support each joint (also known as connective tissue) stretch more than usual and cause the joint to go beyond the normal range of motion. This can cause pain or discomfort and is often confused with or dismissed as general growing pains. Joint hypermobility is common in childhood, occurring in eight to 39 percent of school-aged children. Girls are generally more hypermobile than boys.

  • Lead poisoning: How the Flint water crisis is bringing an old problem back into view

    You may have seen the ongoing news coverage of the crisis in Flint, Michigan where the city’s water supply has exposed potentially tens of thousands of people to toxic levels of lead. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, and in fact it was a pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who was one of the first to publicly call for city and state officials to address water safety concerns after finding high levels of lead in several children. 

  • Children are the Silent Victims of Domestic Abuse

    Part one of a two-part series.