Teagan Smith
Looking at 7-year-old Teagan Smith today, one would never know what she went through during her first several months of life. “I had a completely normal pregnancy,” states Teagan’s mom, Alex. “I had a total of three ultrasounds and was told everything looked perfect. Oddly though, my whole pregnancy, I just had this crazy feeling…
Faith Jethro
During the early stages of pregnancy with Faith, doctors informed her family that she had a one in 17 chance of having Down Syndrome. Her family was devastated, but after much prayer and encouragement from loved ones, they quickly came to terms with this. When Faith was born she didn’t have any characteristics of Down…
Maren Poettker
Three-year-old Maren, from Aviston, IL was a perfectly healthy, energetic two-year-old, up until October 2019. At that time, she became ill with some persistent low-grade fevers, generally low energy, and a complaint of her neck hurting. At first, parents Neely (Mom) and Chris (Dad) suspected a minor viral process, so they electively kept her home…
Jimmy Williams
Jimmy from Jackson, Missouri is a kind, funny and active young man. An avid and well-decorated golfer, Jimmy was playing in a tournament in early August of last year when we came off the course and got sick. “He recovered and went on to play two more games,” says his mother, Shana. “But it was…
Amjad Awawdeli
He may be only 26 inches tall, but his size is easily overshadowed by his strength. Six year-old Amjad is almost a celebrity at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon, having won many hearts since he was born. In 2013, Riki Awawdeli was expecting a baby. Already a mother of three children, she had a history of…
Kagen Hill
Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, or chronic liver disease, and is a leading reason for liver transplants in the United States. HCV is more common in adults than in children. Children who have HCV most often acquired…
Kalista Rasmussen
That simple body function is almost a miracle for a child who has experienced constipation, stool leakage and difficulty with bowel movements since shortly after birth. “She was a fast learner, crawling at 4 months and then walking at 9 months,” said her mother Katherine. “But when it came to going to the bathroom, she…
Aiden Ellis
13-year-old Aiden Ellis enters the swimming pool at Hazelwood Central High School, gearing up to practice his favorite stroke, the butterfly. Ellis is a competitive swimmer, making it to the division championships last year and finishing seventh in the 50-meter fly as a member of the Heat, a regional select swim club. “I love being…
Chandler Street
In just the past 30 years, obesity rates among children have tripled in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, 13.7 million children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years old are considered obese. While education and increased access to healthier food choices has caused a decrease in childhood…
Shaun Patterson
Shaun Patterson was in tears. After years of hard work, he learned he would miss his high school graduation because he would have to remain in the hospital for weeks or months while awaiting a heart transplant. Shaun had been born with congenital heart defects that erased his dreams of playing basketball but he set…