Meet Your 2025 Summer Scamper Patient Hero: Mikayla, 7, San Francisco
Editor’s note: Mikayla was honored at the 2025 Summer Scamper as one of our Patient Heroes. Artist, scooter rider, and heart transplant recipient Seven-year-old Mikayla’s…
Category: Patient Stories
Meet Mikayla – Artist, Scooter Rider, and Heart Transplant Recipient
“In hindsight, I think we missed a lot of the signs,” says 6-year-old Mikayla’s mom, Stephanie. “But we had four normal years with her.” The…
Meet Arya – Mac ’n’ Cheese Aficionado, Trolls Fan, NICU Grad, and Craniofacial Patient
“Believe it or not, Arya is super social,” explains mom Shubh with a laugh. “I don’t know how, because first she was in the hospital…
Matthew, 9; Kate, 7; Alex, 7, Portola Valley
NICU grads and siblings with a cause Elizabeth’s first visit to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford was filled…
Meet Zenaida – Concert Lover, Big Sister, Cancer Patient
At the age of 4, Zenaida was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that usually affects kids under age 5. In the past eight years,…
The Sweet Sound of Music Therapy
If you’ve met 8-year-old Ryan, you’ve likely met Serafina, too. Serafina is a life-size stuffed orange tabby cat with a bit of a sassy side,…
Meet Max – 3D digital artist and inspiration for Team Mighty Max
As Max stepped up to ring the Golden Bell at the end of his cancer treatment in September 2023, he was surrounded by more than…
Meet Austen – Daddy’s Girl, NICU Grad, and Heart Patient
Collette’s pregnancy was going really well. Then one morning, about 30 weeks along, she started feeling cramps. There was no bleeding or signs of big…
Hospital School Marks 100 Years!
The Hospital School began at the Stanford Home for Convalescent Children—the earliest predecessor of Packard Children’s Hospital—which provided care, balanced meals, and sunshine to children…
Humans of Packard Children’s: Zenaida (Spring 2024)
Over the years, Zenaida spent months in our hospital receiving treatment for neuroblastoma. Her family credits her music therapists, child life specialists, chaplains, and so…