Celebrating 10 Years of Nora’s Warriors

A girl on her dad's shoulders facing away from the camera. Their shirts say "Nora's Warriors"

Nora’s Warriors is a Walk for Children’s team that has been walking together since our first Walk for Children’s back in 2016 in honor of their warrior, Nora. Below, Nora’s mom, Andi, tells the story of how Nora’s Warriors came to be. Register for Walk for Children’s today! Our family was introduced to UPMC Children’s […]

Life Without Limits: how a research-based treatment cured Leon of sickle cell disease

Leon and his twin sister, Leigh-Marie, were born in the summer of 2021. When the babies were only about a week old, their parents, Stacy and Leon Sr., received an alarming call from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The standard newborn screening test administered to all babies after birth revealed that Leon had sickle cell […]

Liam’s Super Heart: Care from Birth at the Heart Institute

a boy dressed as a superhero pretending to fly while his father holds him up

Baby Liam wasn’t breathing when he was born. He spent the first five nights of his life in the NICU at his local birth hospital, struggling to survive. He was diagnosed with a genetic illness called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thickened and stiff, making it harder for the heart […]

Emilia Makes History

UPMC Children’s maintains a strong clinical cancer research program. Thanks in part to the community’s support of the Mario Lemieux Institute for Pediatric Cancer Research at UPMC Children’s, an innovative center dedicated to advancing lifesaving childhood cancer research, the hospital can offer more experimental trials like the blinatumomab study to children like Emilia.

The Best Thing for Him: Miller’s Treatment for HLHS

Before he was even born, Miller was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). A rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is extremely underdeveloped, HLHS prevents normal blood flow through the heart.

Home Away from Home: How Zoey’s Medical Team Kept Her Comfortable

Zoey’s journey at UPMC Children’s began with a few minor but unsettling symptoms. The four-year–old began experiencing random fevers and soon stopped eating altogether. Her concerned mother, Asterria, sought answers from their local hospital. The diagnosis was strep throat—an explanation that didn’t quite fit the severity of Zoey’s condition. Determined to find an answer, Asterria […]