Stories & Outcomes

Discharge days are bittersweet at Blythedale Children's Hospital. While we miss the children we become so close to over the course of their treatment, our hearts soar when they are able to return to their families and their communities. We are proud to share some of their stories.

Cody's Christmas

Cody made his way home just in time for the holidays and for his family's first Christmas as a family of five.

Cody and his sisters, Mackenzie and Abigail, were born prematurely at 27 weeks at Westchester Medical Center. Cody was in distress as a result of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and was born with chronic lung disease typical of premature birth and required CPAP ventilation. He weighed a mere...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Specialized Feeding
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR)
  • Preemie
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)

Leo's Lasting Impression

Through the dedication of his parents, the staff at Blythedale, and the fight within Leo, he made it home, but not before leaving a lasting impression on all who met him.

Leo was admitted to Blythedale when he was 18-months old after being born with giant omphalocele, a rare birth defect in which the internal organs develop in a sack outside the abdominal wall. Leo required complex medical care for his complicated condition and intensive physical, occupational...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Specialized Feeding
  • Complex Chronic Conditions
  • Assistive Technology
  • Giant Omphalocele

The Blythedale Four

Proving Preemie Power Prevails

Despite their differences, four former preemies share a remarkable common bond at Blythedale Children's Hospital. Meet "The Blythedale Four" and learn about the threads that tie their lives together at New York's only post acute neonatal care rehabilitation center.

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
  • Chronic Lung Disease
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Preemie

Knowledgeable Naphtaly

Health Home Helps Teach Patient Transitions, Responsibility

Naphtaly knows Blythedale. His lengthy and complex medical journey led him to Blythedale over the course of 12 years as an inpatient, a Robert Stone Day Hospital patient, an outpatient , and most recently, an enrollee in the Hospital’s Health Home Care Management Program. Nineteen-year-old Naphtaly...

Tags:

  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Centronuclear Myopathy

Ada's Adventure

Surviving Twin Preemie Weaned From Ventilator Dependency, Goes Home for First Time

As paramedics secured Ada in her car seat atop an ambulance stretcher, her mom, Laurena, stood inside their room at Blythedale Children’s Hospital and reviewed her checklist: 1) Ada’s oxygen levels 2) Ada’s tubing 3) Ada’s seatbelt 4) Ada’s “Discharge Day” outfit The bittersweet moment had finally...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Chronic Lung Disease
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
  • Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA)

Kirk's Connection

Interpersonal & Interdisciplinary Relationships Help Infant Recover From Near Drowning Brain Injury

First-birthday memories are usually filled with family, friends, balloons and big pieces of cake. That was not the case for Kirk and his family. Instead, there were chest compressions, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a frantic drive to the emergency room. In August 2020, the joy-filled, healthy...

Tags:

  • Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Specialized Feeding
  • Acquired Brain Injury
  • Storming
  • Disorders of Consciousness (DoC)

Blythedale Responds to COVID-19 Pandemic

"We all have fear, but courage is not the absence of fear. It's being able to do what you need to do despite fear." When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the region in March 2020, Blythedale put the safety and needs of its patients, families, staff and community first and became a place that all could...

Therapeutic Recreation: Healing Through Play

Sitting in a hospital bed or wheelchair, surrounded by beeping machines and new faces can be a bit jarring for both patient and parent. However, a special team at Blythedale Children’s Hospital has the unique responsibility of turning frowns upside down. They are the finders of fun. The laborers of...

Tags:

  • Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Cancer Rehabilitation
  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Complex Chronic Conditions
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Complex Wound and Burn Management
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant

Joyful Jackson

Ex-Preemie Prevails with Respiratory Resilience, Brotherly Bond & Family of Fighters

Sixteen-month-old Jackson is full of joy and it shows. He loves to laugh, smile and play with his twin brother, Connor. As rare dichorionic/diamniotic identical twins, the pregnancy was complicated and the twins were born extremely premature at just 25-weeks gestation. “My wife was hospitalized for...

Tags:

  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Specialized Feeding
  • Complex Chronic Conditions
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
  • Extreme Prematurity
  • Chronic Lung Disease
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Feeding Disorders
  • Hydrocephalus
  • Preemie

Making Music Matter

Therapy Program Promotes Hope, Self-Expression & Socialization

“Every human being has an inherent musical ability. We all have a heartbeat and a heartbeat is a rhythm.” It’s this sense of hope at Blythedale Children’s Hospital that has kept the beat going strong for the music therapy program. But, what exactly is music therapy? It’s much more than playing an...

Tags:

  • Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Cancer Rehabilitation
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Complex Wound and Burn Management
  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Post Acute Neonatal Care
  • Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Acquired Brain Injury
  • Cerebral Palsy (CP)
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)