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There are hopeful signs the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually getting under control. Of course, it’s still important for all of us to continue to follow guidelines to keep one another safe. Each day, as COVID-19 cases and deaths decline and vaccination rates rise, the prospect of things returning to “normal” seems more and more possible. Finally, it feels like we can begin to look ahead with much greater optimism.
Since the pandemic began one year ago, more than 3 million children in the U.S. have survived this novel coronavirus. What “normal” will look like for these children is a question...
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As we begin the month of March, it’s hard to believe COVID-19 has impacted our lives for a full year. In December 2020, we saw a light at the end of the tunnel as two vaccines – produced by Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna – were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in the United States and distribution began.
Now, we have another vaccine in our arsenal. On Feb. 27, the FDA granted emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus...
MyPlate is a tool that helps us build our meals using a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy. MyPlate can be used for adults, teens and children. The hope is the familiar image of a plate will show us how to balance our meals and include more variety on our plate, so that we can achieve our healthy lifestyle goals.
Fruits/Vegetables: Half of our plate at each meal should be filled with fruits and/or vegetables. This food group packs a punch of fiber which helps with digestion. Choosing a variety of colorful foods provides us with many different vitamins and minerals to fuel our bodies. Whether...
Photo courtesy of Rachel Hewitt
In 2016, Rachel and Scott Hewitt’s third child, who they describe as “spunky,” made her appearance much in the same way she lives her life – fast and fun. Their daughter, Sophie, was beautiful and perfect. But, within minutes of her birth, they noticed a small red-ish, purple mark on her cheek. When they asked the nurse about it, the nurse told them their daughter likely came out so fast she was bruised from the birth. Perplexed, the Hewitts accepted the answer and continued loving on their newborn.
The next morning the pediatrician’s office descended on the hospital with medical books...
Photo courtesy of Kate Hurlbut
Five years ago, my husband, Phillip, and I mourned the loss of our beautiful 7-week-old twin daughter, Ella Grace. She fought courageously in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s Hospital until she passed away in Sept. 2015. Since our daughter’s untimely death, one thing that has helped us find healing and comfort is providing support and outreach to other patient families experiencing grief.
As thankful as we are for the care we received when Ella passed, we realized the need for a more private environment for parents to say goodbye to their babies. When the...