Our Patients

Despite all the surgeries, despite the grim prognoses—despite the odds, really—8-year-old Carmella “Ella” Cruz just keeps dancing. It’s a dance all her own, more of a life-affirming wiggle than a full

Karen Hayhurst was giving her daughter Emily a piano lesson one day when Emily, then 7, piped up with a question. “Wouldn’t this be a lot easier,” she reasoned, “if I had five fingers on each of my

Surgery for hip dysplasia leaves Leana Vardanian pain-free and ready for a bright future. For Leana Vardanian, the first moment she knew something was terribly wrong came in sixth grade, when she

All parents face tough questions from their children, but Cynthia Harkins has had to answer some particularly poignant questions from her son, David. “He asked me once if he really has half a heart,”

Three knee surgeries followed by a meniscus transplant sidelined the young soccer player for 2 ½ years. He’s now on the verge of returning to the field. From inside her son’s examination room at

Every time 6-year-old Zayden Rainey comes to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, something magical happens: He grows a little taller. It happens quickly—in less than two minutes—but no hocus-pocus or

Dieter Stelling feels right at home in the ocean, where he loves to dive and snorkel, exploring marine life. Out of the water, he prefers to be hiking or rock climbing — always on the move

Until the day her family got a surprise phone call from Mitch Seruya, MD, Heather Murillo had been at a loss. Murillo’s youngest daughter, Stella Carrillo, had brachial plexus palsy—also called Erb’s

Lying in the back seat of his parents’ car on July 3, 2012, 13-year-old Nathan Newman had no idea just how much his life was about to change. Up until that summer, when his headaches started, he’d

Since Elise Martinez was 2 years old, she was debilitated by a condition that could not be properly diagnosed. It caused severe impaction in the bowels, arthritis and malnutrition. The many pediatric