Patient Stories
Published on October 11, 2018
CHLA’s Heart Institute gives an 11-year-old baseball player a chance to get back in the game.
By Matt Villano
When it comes to baseball, “heart” is one of those intangibles in a player that scouts covet.
Generally, the word refers to a variety of attributes... Read More
Published on September 21, 2018
By Jeff Weinstock
Urged on by a mantra started by her parents, Tessa fought like a tiger to overcome leukemia.
It was an innocent question, one for which Meredith had the good fortune of not knowing the answer—otherwise she wouldn't have asked it: "What are labs?"... Read More
Published on September 14, 2018
By Katie Sweeney
Please, let this be an infection. Please, an infection—not leukemia.
Those were the words running over and over through Nina’s head on April 12, 2013, as she sat by her 3-year-old son Alex’s bedside at Children’s Hospital Los... Read More
Published on August 2, 2018
By Katie Sweeney
First, he wiggled his fingers. Then he wiggled his toes. Now, he moves his head side to side, and he furrows his eyebrows when he doesn’t agree with you.
For 3-year-old Ali Al-Mutawa—and for his parents and family, and his doctors, nurses and... Read More
Published on June 21, 2018
A quartet of teenage siblings makes CHLA happier, one song at a time
By Matt Villano
To many, they’re The Runaway Hamsters—a talented band of child musicians who sing country pop and strive to help those in need.
To Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, however, the four... Read More
Published on May 24, 2018
In the wake of the first anniversary of his newborn son’s passing, a father finds solace in skydiving and triathlon training, making sure to never be far from the loss.
By Jeff Weinstock
“Have you ever jumped out of an airplane?”
You got the wrong guy, buddy... Read More
Published on May 17, 2018
By Katie Sweeney
Twelve-year-old Justin Ybarra likes to joke around, and he likes to have fun. Very rarely does he take life too seriously—even though there have been plenty of things in his life that have been plenty serious.
So when you ask him why he got along so... Read More
Published on April 26, 2018
Katie Hawley was a rising young soccer star when cancer hit at age 9. Now she balances a desire to be a “typical” teenager with the challenges of a life-threatening disease.
By Candace Pearson
At 18, Katie Hawley is such an expert at blending life as a teenager and... Read More
Published on April 19, 2018
Even before Angelique Garcia was born, doctors at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles knew she had a severe form of congenital heart disease called complete atrioventricular canal defect (CAVC), thanks to a prenatal echocardiogram by CHLA cardiologist Jay Pruetz, MD.
In a... Read More
Published on April 6, 2018
A rare, polio-like illness called acute flaccid myelitis appeared on the national radar in 2014 and may be on track to return this summer and fall. Here is one family’s story, and a look at CHLA’s innovative, multidisciplinary approach.
By Candace Pearson
Like many parents... Read More
Published on March 20, 2018
My name is Grace Rose and I’m 15 years old. I was born with cystic fibrosis, which is a life-threatening disease that attacks my lungs and digestive system. I need to be watched carefully and treated often.
I’ve been going to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since I was... Read More
Published on March 2, 2018
Superheroes come in many shapes and sizes. In the movies and the comics, they’re most often big and strong, with bulging biceps and superpowers unlike anything we earthlings have ever seen. In real life, however, superheroes often look much different, their powers subtler... Read More
Published on February 23, 2018
Jim Harrison, age 2
CHLA’s Home Mechanical Ventilation Program Marks 40th Anniversary
There was a time when it was devastating news for a parent to learn that in order to survive, their child would need to be hospitalized and require assistance to breathe with a... Read More
Published on February 22, 2018
By Katie Sweeney
On a picture-perfect summer day at the lake in August 2016, William Lievense, then 9, stood at the edge of the dock, ready to jump gleefully into the water one more time.
At that moment, his life was still the normal life he had always known. In that... Read More
Published on February 15, 2018
After beating back two life-threatening illnesses, the resilient teenager has a new heart to take forward and a bout with cancer to leave behind.
By Jeff Weinstock
Consider this a chicken-and-egg discussion no one ever wanted to have, but knowing which came first, the... Read More
Published on February 6, 2018
By Katie Sweeney
Fifteen-year-old Zerkari Payne is back at school these days, hanging out with his friends again and “shooting some hoop.” The outgoing high school sophomore has more energy than he can ever remember.
“I feel like a brand-new person,” Zerkari says.
Still... Read More
Published on December 28, 2017
By Sarah Brown
For a 4-day-old infant, 3½ hours is a long time.
For his mother, it feels like a lifetime—when he is having open-heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect.
Benjamin Clark was born at a healthy 9 pounds, 12 ounces on April 15 in Bakersfield,... Read More
Published on December 18, 2017
On a bright, sunny weekend in March 2017, Aubrey and Tyler Kelly decided to celebrate their new family of five with a camping trip before the end of Tyler’s paternity leave. They piled their three kids—4-year-old Sierra; Pierce, not quite 2; and Harper, only 4-and-a-half... Read More
Published on December 15, 2017
Kennedy Rae Lewis’ mom expected her first ride to be in the back seat of her car on the way home from the hospital. Instead, it was in a helicopter, just hours after she was born—and it was a ride on which her life depended.
Kennedy arrived ten weeks early via emergency... Read More
Published on November 7, 2017
By Katie Sweeney
Have you ever found yourself thinking about someone who made a significant impact on your life? And have you wished that you could tell that person just how grateful you are?
Fourteen-year-old Sydney has had those thoughts many times over the years—... Read More