Coronavirus Update:What patients and families need to know
Patient Stories
At Children’s National Hospital, we provide compassionate, professional care to thousands of patients every year. Our patients come from all over the United States and from more than 20 countries around the world. They have many different conditions and experience unique paths on their treatment journeys – but through it all they experience the same level of warm, family-centered care. Discover our patients' stories to understand their journey and see how it may relate to your own.
Looking for something more specific?
Sophia's Story
Tetralogy of Fallot TOF
Sophia's Story
Tetralogy of Fallot TOF
During a routine 20-week prenatal ultrasound, Carol Kando-Pineda’s obstetrician in Fredericksburg, Virginia, spotted abnormalities in Carol’s unborn child that she referred to as “possibly inconsistent with life.”
Ryan W.'s Story
Heart
Ryan W.'s Story
Heart
When Ryan turned 2 months old, his parents noticed a change in his behavior. Their son – who once loved to eat – suddenly stopped nursing, began sleeping more than usual, gradually became fussy and struggled to breathe when he laid down.
Aidan's Story
Heart
Aidan's Story
Heart
During his one-month-old checkup at a local doctor’s office in California, Maryland, Aidan’s pediatrician detected a rapid heartbeat. He immediately sent them to Children’s National where doctors confirmed that Aidan’s tiny heart was beating twice as fast as it should be.
Chip's Story
Heart
Chip's Story
Heart
When Chip was born just three days after Christmas, his family was excited to welcome their new son into the world. But things immediately took a turn for the worse.
Serenity's Story
Truncus Arteriosus
Serenity's Story
Truncus Arteriosus
Two-year-old Serenity is a normal toddler with a not-so-normal story. She has a long scar in the middle of her chest (her “boo boo”) that represents the three open heart surgeries she had before her second birthday.
Tyson and Tyler's Story
Tetralogy of Fallot TOF
Tyson and Tyler's Story
Tetralogy of Fallot TOF
Before they had even entered the world, Children's National doctors had hatched a plan to safely deliver and then separate conjoined twins Tyson and Tyler.
Ryan's Story
Heart
Ryan's Story
Heart
Ryan was born with a rare condition — his heart developed outside his body. Find out how Children's National doctors worked together to help Ryan thrive.
Nadia’s Story
Heart
Nadia’s Story
Heart
Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a rare heart condition in which the heart muscles are too stiff and can’t relax to fill and pump the correct amount of blood to other parts of the body. For Nadia, this not only meant that her intestine function was compromised, causing nausea and vomiting, but her lungs also had to work in overdrive.
Zach's Story
Pulmonary Atresia
Zach's Story
Pulmonary Atresia
Zachary Blumenfeld is so thankful for the Children’s National Hospital physicians who saved his life. Now, he wants to spread miracles around the world.
Penelope's Story
Heart
Penelope's Story
Heart
Before Penelope was even born, she had a team of Children's specialists ready with a treatment plan for her heart defect.
Ryan M's Story
Cardiomyopathy
Ryan M's Story
Cardiomyopathy
Father and son Ryan and Alex Morales know what it’s like to spend days—even weeks in the hospital. The two have been patients at Children’s National Hospital for more than 10 years. Their stories are connected by Children’s National physicians who have been treating them since 2005 and continue to see them improve and grow in more ways than one.
Teresa's Story
Cardiomyopathy
Teresa's Story
Cardiomyopathy
Teresa, age 2, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and waited on the Berlin Heart EXCOR® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) for nine months while she waited for a heart transplant. Her heart arrived on Christmas Day.