Meet Our Patients

Ryan Chapman, Optic Nerve Hypoplasia Study Participant

Ryan is a thrill-seeker. He careens at full-speed on his scooter. He adores his backyard swing. Ryan is also, essentially, blind. He was born with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH), where key brain centers, including those controlling vision, develop incorrectly. As a result of his condition, development comes more slowly than for Ryan than for other children this age.

Mario Perez, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome Survivor

Mario first felt his heart pounding to a lightning-fast tempo while resting after football practice. It beat at up to 190 beats per minute, and wouldn't stop for hours. His mother, Nancy, was alarmed, “You could see his heart beating from across the room.” An EKG revealed that Mario had a rare heart condition - more than one nerve center in his heart was triggering his heartbeat.

Maggie Drysch, Diabetes Patient

Scott Drysch recalls his daughter's 7th birthday with ease. “Our lives changed forever,” he shares. It was the day Maggie was diagnosed with diabetes. Maggie’s parents had noticed that she was experiencing weight loss, excessive thirst, and lethargy. That morning, her parents mustered up the courage to test her for diabetes, and the test came out positive.

Denise Batres, Osteosarcoma Survivor

Denise kicks both of her legs, vigorously propelling across her backyard pool with the energy of a healthy young girl. Watching her glide through the water, it’s hard to believe she was once diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive, fast-moving, bone cancer. A decade or two ago, saving Denise's life from osteosarcoma would have required that her leg be amputated.

Danny Morales, Jeune Syndrome Survivor

Danny's physician was preparing his parents, Carlos & Aracely, for the worst . . . soon, it would be time to take their 18-month old boy off of the machines keeping him alive. The toddler was living on a ventilator and a feeding tube and was in jeopardy of losing his life. Then, Danny’s nurse found a doctor at our hospital who could help him live.

Conor Turley, Polyarteritis Nodosa Survivor

"Conor was dying," says Doug Turley, Conor's father, "Dr. Reiff saved his life." At age 14, Conor Turley was in grave danger. He was admitted to our hospital with a mysterious autoimmune disease. After 27 blood transfusions and round-the-clock care, his body would not stop attacking itself. While Conor's parents worried and waited, Andreas O. Reiff, MD did not stop searching for answers.

Billy Johnson, Congenital Chylothorax Survivor

Billy was drowning and there was nothing the medical team at his community hospital could do to stop it. Born with a rare condition where lymphatic fluid leaks into the lungs, the fragile newborn was growing incapable of taking oxygen into his tiny lungs. His local hospital did not have the necessary expertise or specialized equipment to save him.

Arianna Alcana, Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome Survivor

Standing in their six-month old daughter's hospital room, surrounded by their little girl's entire team of caregivers, Angelica and Mario Alcana confronted the most difficult of all decisions that can be asked of parents. Angelica remembers, "Everybody in that room was in tears." After six surgeries, including a heart transplant, Arianna had returned from an emergency surgery to stop one bleed in her chest. Now she had developed another bleed in her brain.