Our Kids Kennedy Kennedy’s dad is a professional boxer, but he isn’t the only fighter in his house. Kennedy, age 9, has been a fighter since day one. Kennedy was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition in which parts of the left side of the heart do not develop completely. She had her first open heart surgery at 2 days old and a second one just six months later. She was hospitalized for the first year of her life suffering many setbacks along the way, including a stroke, blood infections, and also requiring a tracheostomy and ventilator for several years. Full story Faith Baby Faith has a chance to lead a full life, thanks to her older sister, Zarley, who died eight years before Faith was born, and the timely treatment of a rare neurodegenerative condition known as Krabbe disease. Both sisters were born with Krabbe disease, a devastating genetic disorder. Although Zarley’s diagnosis came too late to save her life, because of her, Faith’s parents knew what to do following a prenatal diagnosis to give Faith every chance to lead a full life. Full story Addison In February 2014, Addison, a perfectly healthy 6 year old girl, started to have unexplained bruises. Her pediatrician ordered blood work and explained that all of her blood counts were very low. The doctor was concerned about leukemia, so the family immediately traveled to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. After receiving additional blood work in the Emergency Department, the family was advised that Addison most likely had leukemia. Addison was admitted to the hospital. She received two blood and platelet transfusions, more blood work, and additional tests. Her doctor's expected to see leukemia everywhere when they looked at her bone marrow under a microscope. Much to their surprise however, Addison had no leukemia in her bone marrow. Full story Lucas Lucas developed a condition called biliary atresia shortly after birth. The disease inhibits bile ducts in the liver. In severe cases, it can cause liver failure and require a liver transplant. He waited 18 months for a new liver, and his condition became worse the longer he waited. Running out of options, Lucas’s family started a public campaign, including billboard advertisements and social media posts, to find a suitable donor. Full story Madelina Madelina started having stomach issues and then developed bruising on her legs so the family made an appointment with a gastroenterologist at Children's North. It was recommended that her family meet with oncologists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Initially doctors thought Madelina just had low platelet counts. They did routine biweekly blood work over the period of two months and saw some signs of a problem during the bloodwork. She had her first bone marrow biopsy shortly after and was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. Full Story