A Successful Children’s Hospitals Week!

It was a successful Children’s Hospitals Week at Valley Children’s! Staff, patient families, and Miss America title holders celebrated the whole week long by posting photos of themselves wearing bandages with the name of a child to social media. We had the opportunity to learn and share about three of our beloved patients Tessa, Sariah, and Gavin. See their photos and stories below!

Meet Tessa: Tessa was born with a congenital heart defect. She has had three open heart surgeries at Valley Children’s and continues to be followed by a cardiologist at least twice a year. She awaits her next open heart surgery. Tessa loves swimming, dancing, art, and STEM.

Meet Gavin: Gavin (on the left) was born at 32 weeks weighing only 3lbs and 9oz. His eyelashes and eyebrows had not grown in and his fingernails were just beginning to form. Unable to eat, he was tube-fed until he developed enough to drink from a bottle, then eventually breastfeed. While still in the hospital, Gavin underwent light therapy to treat jaundice. Thankfully, after three weeks, Gavin’s family was able to take him home. Here Gavin is pictured with his siblings Taren and Elizabeth.

Meet Sariah: Sariah was born with Sturge-Weber Syndrome, a condition that prevented Sariah’s brain from developing normally. As a result, Sariah began experiencing seizures as young as five months old. The seizures were frequent and powerful for 13 years. Sariah and her family came to Valley Children’s where Sariah underwent a life changing surgery in 2018. Since her surgery, Sariah has been seizure-free! Watch more of Sariah’s story here.

Sariah, Tessa, and Gavin are the reasons we do what we do at Valley Children’s. Thanks to all who participated last week!