Stories & Outcomes

On Valentine’s Day in 2020, 14-year-old Charlie was playing basketball with his friends when he suddenly felt tingling in his hands and fingers. He tried to call his parents, but his hands went numb, and he dropped his phone. “At that point I was completely paralyzed,” recalled...

Eleven-year-old Angela was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2, a condition that causes non-cancerous tumors to form in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. She has undergone numerous complicated surgeries, followed by multiple rounds of chemotherapy to prevent the return of tumors that were...

Eight-month-old AJ was born with both Down syndrome and Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare condition caused by a combination of four heart defects. Shortly after his birth, AJ required major surgery to improve blood flow to his heart. His complex condition necessitated both a tracheostomy (a surgically...

Eighteen-year-old Joshua has Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), a rare neurological disorder that causes progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. For Joshua, the disease has impacted his movement and coordination, and led to weakness in his...

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...

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,...

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.

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

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”...

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...