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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.
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Thomas's Story
Duodenal Atresia or Stenosis in Infants
Thomas's Story
Duodenal Atresia or Stenosis in Infants
Thomas’s internal and external challenges, all considered individually very rare, added up to an extremely rare combination known as VACTERL association.
Isabel's Story
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Isabel's Story
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Daniela and Steven knew something wasn’t right when their 4-year-old daughter, Isabel seemed to have uncharacteristically low energy at her grandparents’ 50th anniversary party. After advice from urgent care, Isabel's parents took her to Children's National where Shana Jacobs, M.D. diagnosed and began treatment for Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and extremely aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Ashley's Story
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
Ashley's Story
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)
Between her premature birth and her medical issues including her critical HLHS heart condition, her parents, Ana Mercedes and Axel Vela, were told that Ashley was unlikely to survive.
Irina's Story
Colorectal
Irina's Story
Colorectal
When Irina and her husband first learned their infant daughter had a serious health condition, they immediately began researching the best doctors and surgeons to care for her. Read about Irina's story.
Rafael's Story
Rafael's Story
Rafael, a 12-year-old competitive gymnast, had fibular stress reactions in both of his legs due to repeated overuse. He attended physical therapy twice a week for 3 months at our Fight For Children Sports Medicine Center, which alleviated the pain he was experiencing and helped him return to competing.
Claire's Story
Claire's Story
Not only was Claire born small, but she was also born with a type of congenital heart disease called double outlet right ventricle – a condition that occurs once in every 6,000 to 10,000 births, when the aorta and the pulmonary artery connect to the heart’s ventricle. Claire’s lungs were receiving too much blood flow and she was in heart failure.
Lakin's Story
Diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2
Lakin's Story
Diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2
For the Bassler family, this past spring was filled with big changes and new learnings about type 1 diabetes. For Lakin, it was about learning to live with her disease.
Deion's Story
Failure to Thrive (Poor Growth)
Deion's Story
Failure to Thrive (Poor Growth)
Nineteen years ago, Deion was born prematurely and developed eosinophilic esophagitis and acid reflux, along with failure to thrive. For years, he endured environmentally influenced intestinal issues that he and his family didn't understand until they met Children's National specialists who "never gave up on us."
Lexy's Story
Brain Tumors
Lexy's Story
Brain Tumors
Sixteen-year-old West Virginia native Lexy Blair and her parents knew that something was wrong when she started needing to take breaks during her favorite dance classes. Lexy was suffering from intense fatigue and constant headaches, and was unable to keep up with her rigorous dance training or even finish days of school, which had never posed a problem for her in the past.
Finn's Story
Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome
Finn's Story
Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome
When Finn was born, his parents and doctors immediately knew something was wrong. Finn’s left leg was swollen to the size of an adult head, and it continued to swell at an alarming rate.
Jason's Story
Asthma
Jason's Story
Asthma
When Jason was born, the Children's National team was already standing by to treat his failing kidneys. He spent his first two months in the NICU, and he has been in and out of Children's National for the past six years.
Brayden's Story
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Brayden's Story
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
From the outside, Brayden Schofield seems like a regular six-year-old boy who loves sharks, snakes, and playing with his little brother. But what most people don’t know is that Brayden’s life – and left arm – was saved by a rare bone tumor surgery performed by a team of doctors at Children’s National Hospital.