gillette STORIES Topic: Patient Stories

Gillette Children's is committed to providing care for children who live in Greater Minnesota and in rural areas. A 19-year-old longtime patient credits the support and cerebral palsy care she receives at Gillette as one of the keys to helping her compete in the Miss Willmar pageant and winning a title.

Johns Hopkins pre-med student and Gillette patient, Kate Ketelhohn, shares tips to help students who have health issues enjoy a successful college experience.

Ekler Is an 11-month old full of charisma and charm. Before he was born, an ultrasound exam showed his parents that he would be born with a cleft lip and palate. Abigail and Zak had a prenatal appointment with the expert craniofacial team at Gillette Children's to craft a custom treatment plan for their son.

Wyatt Krentz's path to a diagnosis of clubfoot began early--in fact, the process started before he was even born. Learn more about the expert clubfoot care Wyatt began receiving at a very young age.

Featured in the book by Lily Collison (in collaboration with experts at Gillette) is her son, Tommy Collison, who lives with spastic diplegia. Tommy’s story, in his own words, is shared in the epilogue of Spastic Diplegia. He details how his love for writing provided him an outlet to navigate his disability while shaping his perspective on what it means to not be defined by a diagnosis.  

ZaLayaa Jahzara Wandrick is 11 years old. She’s an excellent cook, crafter and loves science, soccer and coding, but for much of her life, has had to deal with multiple sensory and complex medical conditions. Gillette Children's is excited to announce ZaLayaa Jahzara has been named our 2024 Children's Miracle Network Champion.

The donor-funded Gillette Assistance Program (GAP) has allowed Gillette Children's to provide a critical boost for families juggling medical costs, the need for services not covered by insurance, and in the case of the Hunt family, multiple family members needing care.

Some of the things seven-year-old Holli loves about school are getting candy on her birthday, math (she could do math all day!), and playing on the swings during recess. Her specialized paraprofessional, Mr. Tyler, joins her in swinging and in hallway banter as they navigate Holli’s school day and the superpowers she channels while living with osteogenesis imperfecta.  Osteogenesis imperfecta (also known as brittle bone disease or OI) is a genetic condition that causes a defect in a protein found in bones—called collagen. The defect leads to fragile bones that can break easily. It is a lifelong condition that varies greatly in severity, affecting bone quality and bone mass.

It was a day everyone knew was coming. After months of planning, it was time for 13-year-old Owen Earl to have spinal fusion surgery with Gillette orthopedic surgeon, Tenner Guillaume, MD. Follow Owen and his family on surgery day and learn how the expert spine team at Gillette makes a difference for children who need scoliosis care.

George Jamison clearly remembers the moment. He was with his older brother, Jack, at summer camp, having the type of fun that only 8 and 10-year-olds can. Then everything went black. When he awoke, a lot had changed.

Two mothers share their journey of receiving cleft lip and/or palate care for their babies at Gillette Children's. July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month. Gillette has one of the largest craniofacial programs in the U.S. Both mothers appreciate the expertise care and support at Gillette. You can see by her smile that Heavenly Smith is delighted with the outcome. 

You know, there might be nothing more Minnesotan than lacing up a pair of skates and heading out to the rink. "You bet, you'd better believe it," says Tony Lang of Loretto, Minnesota. "I grew up playing hockey my whole life. It's a family tradition. In fact, when we had kids I built a rink in our backyard."

Born missing her arms, Ruth Evelyn (RE) can do pretty much anything using her feet. But she's always dreamed of riding a bike. So her family turned to Gillette to help make her dream a reality.

"Every step Sophia takes is a testament to the countless dedicated individuals who made it possible." Sophia and her family traveled from Arkansas to Minnesota for several major surgeries to treat her cerebral palsy.

Caleb Binkert wrapped up a preholiday evening shift as a cashier at a Target in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota on November 6, 2020. He put on his bike helmet, his reflective clothing and started biking home around 9:30pm. Caleb, 17, does not remember anything from that day as he rode through a crosswalk to continue his journey home. In an instant his life changed.

As he ambles down a long hospital hallway, smiling with every step and practically daring you to do the same, it can be pretty easy to forget that this wasn't supposed to happen. Mateo Arcos was never supposed to walk.

Kyra Condie was one of 4 athletes from the US to compete in Sport Climbing’s debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. A diagnosis of scoliosis could've made this feat unattainable, but her personal dedication and the treatment she received at Gillette made it possible. This story was originally published in 2021, just before the rescheduled games were held.

Gillette Children's has launched a new resource to help parents of children who have complex, rare or traumatic conditions. The first book released by the new Gillette Children's Healthcare Press is Spastic Diplegia—Bilateral Cerebral Palsy and it's written by Lily Collison, an Ireland-based author and the mother of a Gillette patient.

After enduring a ruptured aneurysm, doctors told Trevor's parents were told he'd never walk again. After a six-week rehabilitation stay at Gillette Children's, Trevor strode out of the hospital doors - walking independently.

For Janet Favorite, navigating her son Robert’s rare condition has been a rollercoaster, steadied by her family’s commitment to providing him with expert care and access to resources at Gillette Children’s. Read her story here.

Your brain isn't like your arm. You can’t see it or touch it. It’s not really tangible, which means that we rarely spend time thinking about the thing that makes us think, unless we have to. This is what those who experience a TBI go through.

"If there is anything that I want people to understand, it’s that parents who have children who have disabilities want what any parent wants for their child."

Darius, who spent the first six years of his life in an orphanage in the city of Vilnius, was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. His dad shares their adoption experience, cultural differences and talks about the support they received from Gillette along the way.