Children’s Health

Evolving, transforming and driving the future of children’s medicine. Since 1903, the University of Michigan has led the way in providing comprehensive, specialized health care for children.

Turning blank spaces into healing places

New “Healing Wall” project provides distraction for patients

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One of the new healing murals being installed in C.S. Mott Children's Hospital

One of the new “healing murals” being installed in C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital

A visit to the hospital is hardly on the list of fun things to do — especially if you’re a kid. Many parents – myself included – have noticed a lack of distractions available for the children who were waiting to see a doctor or have a procedure. I’m sure I am not the first person to have wondered — wouldn’t it be nice to use some of the big, open walls in the new hospital to create something that would be visually interesting for all visitors and something what would engage the children while they wait?

I took my idea to the Mott Patient and Family Centered Care advisory group where the idea was refined with the input of the Mott families and staff. Together, we decided that a mural was a great way to make use of wall space that was currently blank. We discovered an amazing Michigan-based artist, Tracy Leigh Fisher, who had created murals in other hospitals as well as individual homes.

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Healing Butterfly Garden Brings Beauty and Education to Mott

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mott blog - butterfly quoteWhen I was a kid, I loved butterflies and bugs. My grandma lived next door and she fostered my fascination. Together we found caterpillars and watched them go through their life cycle and become butterflies. When I had my own children, I shared my hobby with them. I learned how to attract butterflies to my garden by growing native plants. Soon, the garden was a hit with not only my kids, but all the neighborhood children as well.

One day at work, I met Susan Fisher who also shared a passion for butterflies. We shared stories and she told me how she had given a friend who was a cancer patient a caterpillar. Her friend found great comfort in observing the lifecycle of the caterpillar as it transformed into a chrysalis and then a butterfly. Like Susan’s friend, many patients relate to those transformations when they experience their own changes as they go through the healing process. A light bulb popped in my head — wouldn’t it be great if we could bring this experience to more of our patients?

That’s when I decided to apply for a Fostering Innovation Grant to turn a vacant area of the courtyard into a native butterfly garden. Susan and I were thrilled when we learned the grant application was accepted. We started planting the garden last summer. Now many of the plants have matured, and we’re introducing the first butterflies and officially opening the Healing Butterfly Garden.

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This looks like a job for….me?

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mott blog - super hero window washersThere are some things that aren’t really anyone’s “job to do,” but it’s those things that can make such a big difference for our kids and their families.

One great thing about working at Mott, in my experience, is that if you have an idea that will help our Little Victors – bring a smile to their face, make them feel special, or help them feel normal for that matter – people here pull out all the stops to help you make your idea happen.

I’d been hearing about window washers dressing up as super heroes at other hospitals – and even at high rise apartment buildings – as the photos have popped up in the news or online over the past year.  My colleagues and I always talked about how great it would be to do that at Mott.

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New support group for parents of children with eye disease and visual impairment

Bringing parents together to talk about the challenges posed by pediatric eye disorders

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children's vision support groupWhen a child is diagnosed with a serious eye disorder, it can be extremely unsettling to both parent and child.  The parent’s first challenge is to learn about the disease, its treatment, and what this means for the child’s eyesight.  It’s understandable that parents often feel alone in their struggle and are unsure and anxious about what lies ahead.

A group of physicians at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center want to help parents find the resources they need — whether these are aids for low vision or advice on navigating the school system.  Even more important, we realize that parents can benefit greatly from discussing shared experiences with others in a group setting.  It gives them the opportunity to learn about how others in the same situation are handling challenges.

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Is tonsil and adenoid surgery always the answer for children with sleep apnea?

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mott blog - sleep apnea tonsilIt’s estimated than 1 to 4 percent of children suffer from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when a child’s breathing is partially or completely blocked repeatedly during sleep.

Symptoms of sleep apnea can include loud snoring, gasps or pauses in breathing while sleeping, and restless or sweaty sleep. These children can also have daytime symptoms, including being tired, irritable or problems concentrating.

Research is increasingly showing that untreated pediatric sleep disorders including sleep apnea can wreak a heavy toll while they persist. If not treated, serious cases of sleep apnea can lead to a variety of problems. These include heart, behavior, learning, and growth problems.

Many children with sleep apnea have large tonsils and adenoids, although obesity and other medical problems can also be a factor. When a child’s tonsils or adenoids are thought to be the culprit, the most common treatment approach has typically been to remove the child’s tonsils and adenoids.

The decision to put a child through any surgical procedure is not one to be taken lightly, however, even with a procedure as  common as this one.

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Saving a baby’s life with a 3-D laser printer

Kaiba's story

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Ever since he was six weeks old, baby Kaiba often stopped breathing.  The part of his windpipe that carries air to his left lung would suddenly collapse, leaving him unable to breathe and requiring emergency assistance every time.

Kaiba had a condition called tracheobronchomalacia. It’s a rare condition – about 1 in 2,200 babies are born with tracheomalacia and most children grow out of it by age 2 or 3, although it is often misdiagnosed as asthma that doesn’t respond to treatment.

Severe cases, like Kaiba’s, are even more rare, and they are very frightening.

It’s a condition that has bothered me for years.  Children die from tracheobronchomalacia, but I hoped that help could be found for these children.

Kaiba’s parents, April and Bryan, were left watching helplessly each time he stopped breathing, praying that something would change and doctor’s predictions that he would never leave the hospital again weren’t true.

They lived in Ohio but they were willing to go anywhere if it meant they could get help for Kaiba.  Fortunately, they didn’t have to go far.


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