Patient Stories
Published on February 29, 2016
In July 2015, Samantha and Marco Davila were at week 20 of their pregnancy, and they were excited to learn of their first child’s gender. But something was spotted on the ultrasound that would change all three lives.
What their doctor saw would ultimately be diagnosed as... Read More
Published on February 18, 2016
His daughter’s experience at the Heart Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles spurred actor Mark Feuerstein and his wife, Dana Klein, to get involved.
Mark Feuerstein faced a dilemma shared by many parents of severely ill children: the agony of going to work every... Read More
Published on February 9, 2016
Elysia Weiner, RN, clinic nurse III at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, was nervous to be on her first helicopter ride. She didn’t know what to expect, but luckily, a CHLA transport nurse was kind to explain the process of the flight and Weiner was even taken on a special... Read More
Published on January 21, 2016
How a desperate email, sent to the wrong hospital, inadvertently reached the one doctor who could turn Bianca Celis’ life around.
“Oops.”
That was the best Bianca Celis could muster after learning that the email she had sent off to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles went... Read More
Published on January 8, 2016
Eleven-year-old Savannah Fulkerson loves Disneyland, water parks, trips to the beach and swimming in her backyard pool.
The energetic Santa Clarita sixth-grader, though, can only do those activities at night, after the sun has safely gone down. That’s because for Savannah... Read More
Published on December 29, 2015
“She knows where to go, she knows the nurses, she knows the routine and sees other kids going through the same things,” says Trish Manzanedo. “She feels at home here.”
Trish is referring to her 6-year-old daughter, Natalia, who has been fighting high-risk acute... Read More
Published on December 21, 2015
Among the 1,000 or so books that Nikki Kerry estimates line the bookshelves in her kids’ playroom, she counts a few dozen “special” books, so designated because they were given to her daughter Gracin by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where Gracin has been a patient since... Read More
Published on December 14, 2015
Jennifer Rashkin recalls with absolute clarity the first time her daughter, Mila, had a seizure.
“It was Sept. 26, 2011. She was 3 years old. About 15 minutes into her nap, I heard her cough, and I was like, ‘That’s weird.’ As I walked in, I heard her gurgling. When I saw... Read More
Published on December 8, 2015
Three months since her 18-month-old daughter, Luna, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Maria Bueno is sorting through her old thoughts, still working toward forgiving herself for having them.
“Maybe people thought, ‘Why do you want another baby so bad?’ We already had four... Read More
Published on December 4, 2015
At just 5 years old, Joshua Solis knows his way to the Children’s Orthopaedic Center, notices when kids have casts like he did, and refers to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as “my hospital.” That’s no surprise, since he’s been treated by the Musculoskeletal Tumor Program at... Read More
Published on November 30, 2015
Jake Olson lives by a simple mantra: “Nothing is impossible.” Those three words are especially fitting for the 18-year-old who graduated high school with a 4.3 GPA, plays college football, aspires to join the PGA Tour, has written a book—and is blind.
At just 8 months old,... Read More
Published on November 30, 2015
After a fall from a window left him comatose, a 3-year-old boy begins a remarkable recovery.
On April 19 the Cha family would experience the unimaginable.
“After the accident, Clayton couldn’t walk, talk or do much,” says Allis, Clayton’s father.
Claty, as his... Read More
Published on November 26, 2015
A serious heart defect isn’t stopping Maceo Alvarez from playing his favorite sport—and helping other sick children at the holidays.
Maceo Alvarez likes a lot of sports—but nothing compares with his love for football. “He’s like a football addict,” his mother, Monique Esparza... Read More
Published on November 20, 2015
“You get to hit the ball,” explains 6-year-old Jonny Maldonado. “And you get to run.”
The Bakersfield first-grader is talking about why baseball has become one of his favorite sports (along with soccer and wrestling). Last spring, he played shortstop on his first T-ball team... Read More
Published on November 19, 2015
In hindsight, there were small signs that something was wrong with 5-year-old Kylie Wines; but nothing the average parent would consider out of the ordinary.
“We were trying to teach her how to ride a bike,” says her mom, Tasha, and it was proving to be quite a challenge... Read More
Published on November 17, 2015
John Escolero has lots of plans for the future. He wants to be a computer animator. He wants to one day have his own family. And he wants to be independent and have some fun—and freedom.
“I didn’t have as much freedom as a kid, so I’d like to have some freedom and fun as an... Read More
Published on November 12, 2015
Like any other aspiring fashion designer, 5-year-old Emily Jarquin knows that the right shoes are an essential part of every outfit.
So this past summer, before heading off to her radiation appointments at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, she would slip on an elegant pair of... Read More
Published on November 11, 2015
Alex Idolor is an energetic 10-year-old who has loved sports ever since he could walk. But five years ago, he started feeling uncharacteristically weak. Constantly hungry and extremely tired, Alex began to fall asleep at swim practice and had trouble chasing a soccer ball.... Read More
Published on October 30, 2015
When Vivian Bui was 10 years old, she began to get tired a lot. She also started to lose weight and needed to use the restroom constantly. To get some answers, she went to a place she was familiar with as a native of Los Angeles: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
There she was... Read More
Published on October 29, 2015
On Oct. 9, just before the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first playoff game against the New York Mets, a pint-sized figure in a Dodger jersey and cap—and a frilly, powder-blue tutu—strolled onto the field at Dodger Stadium in front of 52,000 cheering fans.
The tutu-... Read More