All CHLA Blog Posts
Published on June 8, 2017
Palmer Naftal wasn’t supposed to jump that day.
It was the first track meet of the 2017 season, and the 17-year-old Calabasas High School junior was standing on the sidelines, watching his teammates compete in the long jump—and growing increasingly restless.
Last... Read More
Published on May 31, 2017
The way 16-year-old field hockey sensation Abigail “Abby” Jackson sees it, the same Children’s Hospital Los Angeles doctor changed her life twice.
The first time, James Stein, MD, now chief medical officer, operated on a 3-day-old baby. The second time, more than a decade... Read More
Published on May 30, 2017
Learning to Talk: Speech Milestones During the First 18 Months
From the day you bring your baby home from the hospital, talk, sing and read to her every day. There is a strong correlation between the number of words a baby hears and their later success in school; more... Read More
Published on May 30, 2017
Look out! Here comes Spider-Man!
Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker in the upcoming superhero movie SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, swung by to visit some of our kids!
Donned in the official suit from the movie, Tom visited patients on the... Read More
Published on May 26, 2017
Welcoming a new child into your family is one of the most exciting experiences as a parent. However, in some cases the joy of childbirth can be overshadowed by overwhelming feelings of sadness, irritability, self-doubt, inadequacy and exhaustion as you face the challenges of... Read More
Published on May 24, 2017
The weather is changing with warmer temperatures and longer days, which is always an exciting sign that summer is near. With more opportunities to be more active outside, chances are we are going to be sweating and drinking more fluids throughout the day. Maintaining... Read More
Published on May 18, 2017
One toy can make a world of difference.
After nearly three years of extended stays at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, this was one of the most enduring takeaways for 6-year-old Valentino Ricciotti and his family. From early 2012 till late 2015, Valen, as his family calls him... Read More
Published on May 16, 2017
On Monday, May 1, a TV-show host known for jokes and pranks did something most comedians try to avoid—he made America cry. More than 13 million people have already watched the clip online, as Jimmy Kimmel described the emotional experience of watching his newborn son diagnosed... Read More
Published on May 10, 2017
This Op-Ed was first published in The Hill on 5/9/17.
Like many of you, I watched late night host Jimmy Kimmel share with the world a deeply personal account of how his son, just a few days old, required lifesaving surgery for a genetic heart defect. I ached when I saw... Read More
Published on May 10, 2017
In today’s era of social media and 24-hour news cycles, exposure to nutrition information is greater than ever. Like with any other news sources, however, it can sometimes be difficult to know whom to trust.
In a handful of states, including California, the title “... Read More
Published on May 10, 2017
You want a big bicep, so you go to the gym and lift heavy weights to make it stronger. You want to throw the perfect pitch in a baseball game, so you practice the movements until they are second nature and you are pitching no-hitters. Naturally, mouth muscles would be... Read More
Published on May 5, 2017
What is tetralogy of Fallot?
Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart defect—a problem with the heart’s structure that’s present at birth—that changes the normal flow of blood through the heart. Babies and children who have tetralogy of Fallot experience episodes of cyanosis... Read More
Published on May 1, 2017
Every day, countless individuals make a difference in the lives of the young patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. But did you know that some of those individuals are schoolteachers?
These teachers, who work for the Carlson Home and Hospital School at the Los Angeles... Read More
Published on April 12, 2017
During the annual Dog Therapy Appreciation Day, where patients and families can meet, take photos and hang out with some of the many therapy dogs who visit Children's Hospital Los Angeles, one child and family came up to a therapy dog named Amber.
Amber's owner, Denice,... Read More
Published on April 7, 2017
Your baby will change a lot over the course of a year, developing motor, speech and social skills. Here are some of the major gross motor developmental milestones that you can expect throughout your child’s first year of life. Please note that these are meant to be... Read More
Published on March 28, 2017
There was a time, not so long ago, when 15-year-old softball standout Devin Waddell might have let a bad game get her down. When she’d sometimes head home upset if her pitches hadn’t hit their mark, or she’d had an 0-for-4 weekend at the plate.
But that was before she found... Read More
Published on March 24, 2017
Have you ever watched a 2 year old play with a smart phone? It’s fascinating to watch tiny little hands manipulate a phone or tablet so efficiently at such a young age. They are cleverer at it than many adults! They almost seem born to play this way. But our technology... Read More
Published on March 20, 2017
Our friend Jack Black stopped by CHLA to Make March Matter. As you’d expect, Jack had no problem joining in our music therapy sessions and was happy to visit with our kids, their families and even made himself available for CHLA staff. Thank you Jack, you rock... Read More
Published on March 20, 2017
The Food Pyramid that most of us learned about in school is now ancient history. That old guideline on food groups and servings has been replaced by MyPlate. The MyPlate concept was designed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote healthy eating... Read More
Published on March 13, 2017
Brian Hacker had never met anyone else with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a disease he was diagnosed with when he was just 2 weeks old. That is, not until he came back to visit the hospital that diagnosed him, to volunteer at a camp specifically designed for kids with the... Read More