Great Stories of Smiles from Around the World
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Playing doctor
Via the Philadelphia Enquirer:
Young patients act out medical procedures on dolls to help them come to terms with their own treatments.
About 35 staffers help patients conduct such play at Children's Hospital. The program is one of more than 400 similar efforts in the United States and Canada, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The idea is to lessen the terror that kids may feel before a scary procedure. Research shows that structured play can reduce stress.
Read the whole story here: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/20080728_Playing_doctor.html posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
See beyond the differences
From the Canton Repository - Canton,OH,USA
Encouraging words from the mother of an Apert's Syndrome child:
"I've been asked many times if we thought about not having more children after Seth. If we didn't have any more, it would be saying Seth is a burden and he's not. We would take 10 of him. We're not out to change society. We're out to fulfill our responsibility to a 5-year-old little boy to do what we can as his parents in making his world a safe and better place by being accepted for who he is and not how he looks."
Read the whole story here: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=426509&Category=8&subCategoryID=
Monday, August 18, 2008
A challenging start, and a hopeful future
From the The Free Lance-Star - Fredericksburg,VA,USA
Grant has two gaps in his upper lip, and he wears a space-age looking appliance in his mouth and nose that's held in place by tape crisscrossing his face.Read the whole story here: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/082008/08172008/401809 posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
"When people stare and they don't ask questions, that's disheartening," Myers said. "I'd rather they ask."
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A 'new face' for movie star extra
From BBC News:
"Joel's face was transformed in one major procedure, and although the minor bruising around Joel's eye may take a while to completely resolve, the transformation after his surgery is incredible.Read the whole story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7510966.stm
"He can now look forward to a future that until now was destined to be bleak.
"He is the most fabulous little boy, full of life, smiles and bubbly enthusiasm.
posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Mirfield parents tell others ‘Do not wait to seek treatment’
From the Huddersfield Daily Examiner (UK)
A MIRFIELD couple say specialist treatment has had a massive impact on improving their daughter after she was born with a rare condition.
And they have urged other parents to act quickly if they ever have a child with the same problem.
Kate Fisher and Alex Gleghorn had premature twins, Matilda and Harry, and at first there were fears they could have cystic fibrosis.
They waited anxiously for the results which, thankfully, proved negative.
But it is a mis-shapen head that has since caused little Matilda problems.
The 18-month-old has brachycephaly – known as flat head syndrome – and needs to wear a helmet 23 hours a day.
The couple claim that if health workers had spotted it sooner, Matilda would be on her way to a perfectly-shaped head.
When she was 15-months-old her parents spent £2,000 on a special helmet called a Starband in a last-ditch bid to correct the problem.
In just two months it has already made an improvement to little Matilda’s head shape.
Her parents now want to highlight the issue among other parents. posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
No right leg? No right hand? No problem
From the Peoria Journal Star - Peoria,IL,USA
A boy deformed by Amniotic Band Syndrome develops exceptional skill as a pitcher with a prosthetic leg.
Matt Plummer knew it was a horrible thing to think, but there it was. Unstoppable as truth.Read the whole story here: http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x1507910136/Wessler-No-right-leg-No-right-hand-No-problem posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Two years ago, first day of tryouts for the East Peoria Central Junior High baseball team, and here was some kid's mom telling him her boy had a prosthetic right leg. Plummer barely heard her go on about the youngster's deformed right hand. Even as he nodded and assured the woman the coaches would watch out for her son, Plummer was thinking, "Oh boy, here we go. How is this kid going to compete?"
Then the coach turned to the field and tried to find Karson Milsteadt. No luck.
C'mon, Plummer's thinking. A kid with one leg and one working arm has to stick out on a ballfield like, well, a kid with one leg and one working arm. Nope. Calisthenics and stretching came and went. Still no sign of a sixth-grader with a handicap.
Monday, August 11, 2008
East Peoria teenager is an inspiration to teammates
Via NBC's Week.com
"I’ve coaches baseball for 14 years and I’ve never met a kid with more heart and courage and a greater work ethic than Karson," said Plummer. "He’s the epitome of toughness and he’s just a pleasure to work with."posted by Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Karson is one of his team's best players, even though he uses a prosthetic right leg and has an underdeveloped right hand, a condition known as Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS). Karson catches, and throws, with his left hand. And he's one of the best pitchers on his team.
Karson was a newborn when his right leg was amputated just below the knee. But he's never complained. Once, his prosthetic leg fell off running to second base. He crawled in safely. He even taught himself how to juggle. He's so inspired those around him that they're trying to raise money to buy Karson prosthetic leg made specifically for athletes.