Category Archives: Giving and volunteering

Childhood experiences shape your future

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Experts say that childhood experiences shape not just the child but also the adult. Think about your own childhood. Was it happy? Did you know the adults in your life loved you? What are the things that help you know you grew up in a loving home?

Many of us think we’ve had a mostly positive childhood experience with a few dips on the experience curve. For me, those dips are mostly related to the death of my beloved pets or the first time a boy broke my heart. But for some people, those dips are significant and …Continue reading →

Surviving against the odds: March of Dimes and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin help premature babies

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Ireyln in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Ireyln in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

When I became pregnant with my daughter in 2007, I knew being diabetic could cause complications for me and my baby. At my six-month appointment, I alerted my doctor to vision problems I had been experiencing. I was immediately admitted to the hospital and found out along with my eyesight, my kidneys and heart were starting to fail.

As a single mother, I was preparing myself for the worst – the possibility that one or both of us would not survive. Doctors closely monitored …Continue reading →

How efforts to prevent child abuse are making an impact on children and families

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Back in November 2010, I wrote a blog post about home visiting and how, as a new mom back in 1995, I could have used the support of someone coming into my home to help me understand my newborn baby and my feelings of being overwhelmed. Since then, I’ve come a long way as a mom in understanding how to parent and where to go for information and support. Just as I’ve come a long way, so has the field of child abuse …Continue reading →

Experiential excursion and the power of place

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This is a guest post by John Makowiec, a sophomore at New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Ill.

Last December I started a charity called Cards2Kids. Ever since I visited the local hobby shop, Bleachers, at age five, all I have been interested in is sports cards. I want to allow others, especially those less fortunate, to have the same joy of collecting sports cards. Moreover sports cards are educational as well. They teach math skills and memorization skills through the stats on the back, reading skills through the player info excerpt on the …Continue reading →

Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Admirals: One cool partnership

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Milwaukee AdmiralsHave you been down to the Bradley Center yet this season for a Milwaukee Admirals game? No? Well, I have a really cool invitation for you. Come on out to the Admirals game on Sunday, Feb. 26, because we’re teaming up with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. For every ticket sold for our 3 p.m. game against the San Antonio Rampage, $2 will be donated to Children’s Hospital. We’re even offering special discount …Continue reading →

Sharing the most appreciated gifts of the holidays

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The week between Christmas and New Year’s brings a bit of a reprieve when I like to take a moment to quietly reflect on how the holidays are going. The lists were made and checked twice. Holiday gatherings with family and friends were full of sweet treats and good cheer. We shared gifts and many boxes were unwrapped.

But if we think “outside the box,” what really makes this time of year so special? I think being with loved ones is what we all …Continue reading this post

Kick back with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Wave

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Every month, I’m reminded how lucky we are at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to have great partners in our community. The Milwaukee Wave soccer players play bingo and other games with our patients. It’s something our patients really look forward to, and it’s amazing to me how comfortable these players are just hanging out with the kids.Milwaukee Wave

Now you too have an opportunity to make a difference for the kids at Children’s Hospital. Right now you can buy tickets to the Milwaukee Wave game on Friday, Dec. 16 at …Continue reading this post

There’s no stopping Sofi

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I first met Sofi May 6, 2008, the day after she was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She was suffering from progressive weakness, making it difficult for her to breathe. She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disease that causes the body to attack its own nerves. Sofi’s disease progressed through her body, nearly causing complete paralysis. Soon after our meeting, she …Continue reading this post

What I’ve learned as a critical care staff physician at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

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I grew up in Milwaukee, attended Marquette University High School, Marquette University and The Medical College of Wisconsin. My first experience with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin was as a patient during the summer of 1987. The hospital was on Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, just a few blocks away from the starting line …Continue reading this post

Meet me at the starting line

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I am on call tonight at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the unit is relatively quiet. Margaret, a nurse I’ve worked with for many years, stops by to ask me if we’re having a critical care team for this year’s Briggs & Al’s Run & Walk for Children’s Hospital. We laugh at how we’re not as fast on our feet as we used to be. And yes, I tell Margaret the Honey Bees team, started by Dr. Tom Rice, will be walking again in Briggs & Al’s Run & Walk. Some of the funds raised will benefit …Continue reading this post