Parents Magazine Puts First Child with Spina Bifida on Cover

This month, when you are walking past the magazine section in the grocery store, stop and take a look at Parents Magazine. The cover features an adorable little girl named Emily. This cover photo makes history. It is the first time a magazine has put a child with spina bifida on the cover. Emily Kiecher is an adorable three year old. She has been selected as the cover model for Parent Magazine’s February 2013 edition. Emily has blond hair, a happy smile, and a pink, poofy, skirt that only a preschooler can get away with wearing in public. It matches … Continue reading →

Baby Born with Heart Outside Her Body Goes Home

Audrina Cardenas was born with ectopia cordis. Her heart was located outside of her body. She survived the surgery to put her heart back where it should be. Now, she is able to go home from the hospital and be with her family. Ectopia cordis is a congenital condition. This means it is “present from birth”. It means that the baby’s heart was not in the right place. Instead, it was located outside of the chest wall (and outside of the body). It is a very rare condition. Only 8 babies out of every million are born with it. The … Continue reading →

Teenager with Autism Wants to Become Miss America

Eighteen year old Alexis Wineman wants to become the next Miss America. She is the currently reigning Miss Montana, pretty, and has an autism spectrum disorder. If she wins the crown, she will be the very first Miss America who has autism. That is her quest. When you think about the Miss America pageant, you are either looking forward to watching it or are intending to avoid it. Beauty pageants, in general, are something that can be viewed as controversial. On the one hand, it is a contest that is primarily about the physical appearance of the contestants (all of … Continue reading →

Mallory’s Birthday was on 12/12/12

There has been a lot of talk about 12/12/12 and how it will only happen once in 100 years. Wouldn’t it be cool if your twelfth birthday fell on that date? Mallory Taylor got to celebrate her “golden birthday” on December 12, 2012. A “golden birthday” might also be called a “lucky birthday”. It is the birthday when you turn the age that matches that day’s number. For example, let’s say that your birthday is on the fifth day of a certain month. The year you turn five is your “golden birthday”. It has been said that this is a … Continue reading →

Baby Born With Heart Outside Her Body Survives

A five week old baby was born with her heart outside her body. This condition is one what frequently results in death. This time, doctors were able to preform surgery and save little Audrina Cardenas. It is unknown what her long term prognosis will be, but right now, she is doing well. The technical name for the condition that Audrina was born with is Ectopia cordis. It is a congenital condition, which means that it is “present from birth” (or before birth). It means that the baby’s heart was not in the place where it was supposed to be located. … Continue reading →

Talia’s Makeup Tips are a Big Hit on YouTube

Talia Joy Castellano is 13 years old and has about four months to live. She has two different types of cancer. One thing that brings her some joy is the YouTube videos she creates where she teaches people how to apply makeup. She wants to continue them as long as she can. Not all parents will allow their 13 year old daughter to wear makeup. This is one of the most common fights that parents and pre-teens, or teenagers, have. The teen or pre-teen wants to look cool, and feels the need to visually indicate that she is not a … Continue reading →

Max Page – “Mini Darth Vader” – Heads Home

You may have heard the news about seven year old Max Page having heart surgery. He was the kid that played “Mini Darth Vader” in the Volkswagen commercial. He has now been sent home from the hospital to finish his recovery. There will be more surgery in his future, however. Max Page is seven years old, and he has been on television more times than I ever will. He is most noted for playing “Mini Darth Vader” in the Volkswagen commercial where he tries to use “The Force” to affect things around the house, while dressed up in a Darth … Continue reading →

Bella Santorum Turns Four Years Old!

Bella Santorum, the daughter of Rick Santorum, has turned four years old! Bella has a genetic disorder called Trisomy 18. Many children who are born with this disorder do not live long enough to see their first birthday. Bella, however, has beaten the odds once again. Trisomy 18 is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with a third copy of genetic material from chromosome number 18. Usually, people will have two copies of that portion of the chromosome, not three. The word “trisomy” refers to the three copies. This extra genetic material on chromosome 18 interferes with … Continue reading →

Avery’s Bucket List

You probably have never heard of a disease called SMA. The parents of Avery Lynn Canahuati, unfortunately, know exactly what it is. They created a “Bucket List” for their daughter, and posted her progress on a blog that was being updated by her father. Avery has now passed away. Her parents want there to be more awareness of SMA. SMA stands for spinal muscular atrophy. It is an incurable disease that can be caused by a genetic defect. SMA attacks muscles and causes inefficiency of major body organs, (especially the organs in the respiratory system). This disease leads to death. … Continue reading →

Lung Transplant Allows Teen to Go to Prom

The end of a school year means more than the promise of Summer vacation. For high school students, it means the opportunity to attend prom. Teens that have special needs face additional difficulties that must be overcome in order for them to attend. A lung transplant made it possible for a teen in West Virginia to attend her prom. The end of a student’s senior year of high school is filled with plenty of stressful situations. This is when teens need to make decisions about where they are going to college, (and how to pay for tuition). They face a … Continue reading →