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She’s only 8 years old, but Kate Elliott recently got a bit of an extreme makeover, donating 10 inches of her long sandy brown hair to the charity Locks of Love. Not only was she eager to see her tresses go to benefit a child in need, but she was also ready for a big change herself. “I want a whole new me,” she explained to her parents, Kristy and Todd. …
Esophageal atresia: Sorting fact from fiction
Will a diagnosis of esophageal atresia affect my child’s weight? Are recurrent respiratory infections normal? How long should my child stay on proton-pump inhibitors?
As the patient coordinator for the Esophageal and Airway Treatment Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dori Gallagher, RN, fields questions like these every day from patients around the world concerned about their children with esophageal atresia. In this condition, a baby is born without part of the esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach). Instead of forming a tube between the mouth and the stomach, the esophagus grows in two separate segments that do not connect. Without a working esophagus, it’s impossible to receive enough nutrition by mouth. Babies with esophageal atresia are also more prone to infections like pneumonia and conditions such as acid reflux. …
The joy of cooking (and eating) after tracheomalacia
For most little kids, a trip to the supermarket is an annoying chore, made tolerable only by the opportunity to request sugary snacks as a reward. But when Charlotte McQueen accompanies her mother, Erin, to the store, it’s a journey marked by imagination and delight. “Mom, can we get that?” she asks, pointing to a can of pureed pumpkin. “Oh, and we’ll need marshmallows and we can make chocolate frosting. It will be a great cake!” …