Pediatric Rehabilitation & Spinal Cord Injury Team Helps Patient Learn to Walk Again
When Jaszelina was a toddler, her mother noticed that her balance and ability to walk was declining. Only days shy of her second birthday, doctors diagnosed her with a type of spinal cord tumor called an astrocytoma. Jaszelina underwent a complicated and risky surgery to remove the 10-inch tumor from her upper spine. After the surgery, doctors told her mother Shawna that Jaszelina needed specialty spinal rehabilitation care and referred her to the pediatric rehabilitation program at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California.
Scoliosis treatment restores young girl’s mental and physical health
Haylie came to Shriners Hospitals for Children—Northern California for scoliosis care after initial treatment with a spinal doctor through a local integrated healthcare system. Haylie was in physical pain, out of school and struggling with depression. Doctors told her she would never dance or participate in physically demanding activities again. She was crushed. Dance was her passion.
Former Patient Appointed by Governor to State Council on Developmental Disabilities
Kara is a former Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California patient with developmental disabilities. Over the course of her lifetime, Kara has been diagnosed with various congenital orthopaedic conditions affecting her limbs and spine. She is a vibrant and determined 28-year-old woman.
In June of 2019, Kara received a special letter from California State Governor Gavin Newsom.
Mother and Son Treated for Osteogenesis Imperfecta at Shriners Hospitals for Children
Hunter is a 10-year-old boy with an infectious laugh and big personality despite his small stature. He loves to ride his bike, climb things and rough-house. He especially loves to wrestle with his dad.
“Hunter loves WWE wrestling,” said Hunter’s mother Amanda. “A lot of pretend wrestling happens at our house. But because of our medical condition, I always have to remind him, ‘You’re breakable, don’t do that!’”
Shriners Encourages Patient’s Love for Swim Team and Horseback Riding
Maren is an eight-year-old little girl with a quick wit and impressive memory. She’s a voracious reader, knows the proper medical names for all her medications and loves school. She loves swimming the backstroke for her local swim club in Elk Grove, Calif. and riding horses.
Vertebral Body Tethering Leads to Patient Doing Back Flips
Baylee arrived into the world prematurely at 24 weeks as a fraternal twin and weighing one pound. On her third day in this world, Baylee underwent open heart surgery. She was in the neonatal intensive care unit for 129 days. After months on ventilators, Baylee was discharged to go home.
Sisters Overcome Physical Differences and Shine on the Track Field
Bayley, Bella and Beka are three dynamic sisters who stand-out on the track field and don’t let their physical differences slow them down.
Last spring, the oldest of the three sisters Bayley was getting ready for her event at a community track meet. She noticed some girls from the other team whispering to one another and pointing at her prosthetic legs.
Bowel Management Program Helps Patient Gain Independence
Jordyn is a seven-year-old patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California. “Jordyn is a very busy and very smart little girl,” said Jordyn’s mother Yoni.
Shriners Inspires WCMX Wheelchair Skating Champion
In Sacramento, 16-year old Alyssa was tearing up the skate park. She launched herself into a 12-foot vertical drop, shot straight down the concrete bowl lined with chipped pool tiles and raced full speed to the other side where she spun back around with a look of fierce determination.
“I’ve seen her do a lot of tricks, and I have to admit, that was the first time I’ve been a little nervous for her,” said Alyssa’s mother Anna.
Bowel Management Programs Helps Patient Gain Independence
Bowel management is a subject that most 14 year-old boys can’t have a serious conversation about. But Mathew, a 14 year-old pediatric colorectal patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California, has the vocabulary to talk about his colorectal condition with poise and confidence. Mathew has been a Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California Pediatric Colorectal Center patient since he was ten years old, and he willingly shares his story with kids and parents who might benefit from it.
Off-Duty Firefighters Jump Into Action
Ayden is a 10-year-old boy who has a long and diverse set of interests. He loves playing drums, skiing, golfing, swim team, playing baseball, football, basketball and almost every other sport. He also loves hanging out with his friends, a close-knit group he’s known since he was little. Today Ayden is slowly getting back into all the activities he loves, following a terrifying accident several months ago.
Teen burn survivor gives ‘Thank You’ performance
After twelve years of intense, pediatric burn care and physical therapy, Luis Flores gave a special “Thank You Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California” performance. Luis sang and played the accordion, gifted to him from hospital staff, in the hospital’s Central Activity Pavilion, a playtime sanctuary where kids engage in structured and unstructured play each day. As Californians continue to shelter in place, Shriners Hospitals for Children—Northern California (SHCNC) continues to provide highly specialized care for children with burns
Meet Abby
Condition: Severe Burn Injuries
Abby tripped and landed knee-deep in hot ashes while playing with her brother on the family farm in Turlock, the heat burned Abby’s sandals off her feet, causing third-degree burns on her feet and ankles. She also suffered second-degree burns on her hands.
Meet Andie Sue and Kaysie Li
Condition: Orthopaedic
Andie Sue and Kaysie Li Roth appear the picture of grace and agility when performing with their horses in equestrian competitions. But that wasn’t always the case.
The sisters were born with crippling birth defects in faraway China, each with a severely deformed leg. Their adoptive parents, Barbie and Drew Roth of Alamo, Calif., believed there was a much better life in store for them in America. They found a powerful ally in Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California.
Meet Antwon
Age: 15
Grade: High School Freshman
Hometown: Sacramento
Condition: Sports Injury
Patient Since: 2017
Meet Athena
Condition: Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy
Athena was diagnosed with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, when she was 9 months old. Doctors told her parents, Molly and George that because of the spasticity their daughter may not walk.
That’s when the family’s medical marathon began. Athena had her first appointment at Shriners Hospital when she was 1 ½ years old, and her care continues today.
Meet Baylee
A patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California since she was one-year-old, Baylee, 7, has been fitted for several prostheses over the years. During a recent appointment with prosthetist Eric Smith, Baylee demonstrated her love of dancing as she tried out her new leg.
Meet Caitlyn
Condition: Right-Sided Hemiplegia
The race of a lifetime. Runner demonstrates the power of perseverance
Caitlyn knows what it means to run your own race. As a baby, Caitlyn was diagnosed with right-sided hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that makes it difficult for her to move and control the right side of her body. Doctors made the diagnosis after a CAT scan revealed that Caitlyn had a stroke in utero.
“We were told she would probably never walk or talk,” says Caitlyn’s mother, Carrie.
Meet Chloe
Condition: Lower-limb deficiency
Chloe was just four months old when she made her first visit to Shriners Hospital. She has been a patient ever since. Thanks to the care provided by orthopaedic surgeon Joel Lerman, M.D., and his team, Chloe says, “I can do anything.”