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  • Winning the kid lottery: how adoption changed my life... continued

    Our family continued to adjust and grow together. Brandon sometimes recognized gaps in his early years and we did our best to fill those in. One time when he was seven or eight, he asked me if we could read some fairy tales and said, “I never go to hear those when I was little.” So we read fairy tales.

  • Feeling the warmth of a furry friend

     A few times a week, a special (furry) friend visits Arnold Palmer Hospital to brighten the day of our children who are receiving care. Pets have been a healing part of our hospital for over 20 years, bringing hope, joy, and comfort to our patients. Thought of as the “softer” side of treatment, man’s (and kids’) best friend provides physical and emotional healing to sick children who are fighting to get better everyday.

  • Concussions and sports: It's a girl thing, too

    As summer winds down and a new school year gets underway, this also signals the start of the fall high school sports season in Central Florida.

  • My Healing Harmony

    As a kid, being hospitalized can be a scary thing. Being in an unfamiliar place without the comforts of home, undergoing surgery, or dealing with pain that is unimaginable to most people is tough. The days can become monotonous, as kids start to feel less and less themselves, and more defined by their illness. Sometimes, kids can’t express their pain or what they are feeling, making it difficult for those around them to understand. Amidst these daily struggles, My Healing Harmony, the music therapy program at Arnold Palmer Hospital, brings hope and healing to patients and families.

    What is My Healing Harmony?

    My Healing Harmony was started two years ago by the Fatone Family Foundation as a way to bring the healing powers of music to patients. After starting their own foundation, the Fatone family was looking for a way to share their love and knowledge of the music industry with kids in need. And what better place to bring hope and joy to kids than at Arnold Palmer Hospital? My Healing Harmony comes to life through music therapist Holly Solis, whose angelic voice brings smiles everywhere she goes. Whether it is comforting a child while going through a procedure or bringing relaxation to a patient’s bedside through peaceful melodies, Holly shares her gift of music to brighten a child’s day.

    The benefits of music therapy

    There are many ways that kids can benefit from music therapy. Music has been found to promote healing in patients recovering from surgical procedures or battling life-threatening diseases. Therapists are able to use music as way to relate to what kids are going through and help distract them from the pain they are feeling. Music is frequently used as a relaxation method to calm a patient’s anxiety and fear. When Holly makes her daily rounds to patient rooms, she says, “I always look at the vital signs when I walk in to the room and as I am playing a song, because I can see a difference from the time I start to when I finish. It’s a great way to know the patient is relaxed”.

  • Would you protect a child from abuse?

    Recently, the headlines have been dominated by case after case of sports figures or other leaders of youth-serving organizations being accused of harming children in their care. Often, these stories are made worse by revelations that others had suspicions of abuse or even witnessed it occurring, yet failed to report their concerns to the proper authorities. I bet most of you were like me when you first read or heard about these stories and thought, “I can’t believe these people knew of threats to children and didn’t act to help them,” all the while telling ourselves that if we were in their shoes, we know we would have done the right thing and reported our suspicions.

  • Giving to others gives meaning to Haley's battle with cancer

    Haley is only 7 years old, but she carries herself with a quiet strength and a calm self-assurance that seems far beyond her years. Perhaps that’s because her childhood has been colored by more than playgrounds and petting zoos. The fabric of who she is and who she’ll become has also been weaved by doctors, hospitals, chemotherapy and cancer.

  • Things you may not know about your child's asthma

    Written by Heather Staples, 4th year medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine.

  • A glimpse into Kaylee’s Life with Prader-Willi Syndrome

    Monique and her husband Brian “Griff” Griffin had a lot to look forward to in the New Year. As 2008 was drawing to a close, the couple eagerly anticipated the arrival of their first child, a daughter, in the coming weeks. They were an equal mix of excitement and nervousness, looking forward to the joys of parenthood and anxious for all of the unexpected thrills that were headed their way. But when Monique went into labor five weeks early on December 28, she and Griff could not have predicted just how much their lives would change in the coming year.

  • Living through the uncertainties of spina bifida

    Written by Amanda Kern

  • Webinar with Dr. Amy Smith and her team at the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program

    Once a child has completed treatment for a brain or spinal tumor, what comes next? This week, we hosted a webinar with Dr. Amy Smith, pediatric neuro-oncologist at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, and discussed how families make the transition from treatment to long-term follow-up. Dr. Smith and her team at the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program explained some of the ongoing physical, emotional and intellectual challenges that a child might face as a result of their disease and treatment. We also highlighted some of the hurdles that families face when children re-enter the school environment and as the child enters adolescence and adulthood. Learn more about how to help your family navigate this next part of the journey.