I will never step foot in a Childrens Hospital again… My beautiful niece of 19 has been going there her entire life… Children’s did not listen to the Mother that knows her child the best best… and she died on their clock… I will never forgive them.. My heart is so empty and broken due to them playing God!!’
Was told it was medically necessary for my child to have an MRI. Scheduled one MRI; he spent one hour in the machine. Guess what the bill was? 11,200.00. I thought this had to be a mistake. How could this possibly be an accurate cost for one MRI? When I called to resolve the error, I was told that I was actually being charged for 3 MRIs, and that there was nothing that could be done to lower the bill. Total scam! The independent MRI clinic down the street would have done it for 675.00. How does Children’s Hospital justify such a gross disparity? No one knows. And they don’t care, either. This is a perfect example of what is broken with our health”care” system. Screw people when they are at their most vulnerable. That should be their website tag line.
In November 2006, I was diagnosed with form of childhood bone cancer at age 19. I was immediately recommended to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and was able to speak to a specialist instead with in 12 hours of having my first x-ray. Three days later Rob started 10 months of chemotherapy treatment that required him to spend over 100 days in the hospital. I had his treatments at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and had a vigorous schedule that required him to remain inpatient for weeks at a time. Along with chemotherapy, I had 3 major reconstructive surgeries to remove the tumor in his right wrist. One of the procedures required the removal of his left fibula, muscle tissue, and some skin from his leg to replace the bone and tissue that had been removed from his right forearm. Since then I had a surgery in May to repair a complication with one of the tendons. The surgery was a success and I has been doing well ever since. I will be in his 3rd year of remission this June! As a survivor, I don't think that I could have made it through the treatment if it wasn't for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
In Sept. 2006 our family was in a car accident. Our two sons were flown by Theda Star to CHW for their injuries. Our youngest son (then 11) had broken his back and had severe trauma to his abdomen and was paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Children's Hospital staff quickly took hold of the situation with excellent care and concern. As parents we always felt well informed. Our son spent 6 weeks recovering and learning how to sit up again. His surgeons, nurses and therapists were all incredible. This was a life altering event and we couldn't have made it through without the vast knowledge of CHW staff members.
Our daughter had a complex open heart surgery at 3 1/2 months of age. The expertise of the surgeons made this surgery a success and she hopefully won't need any more in the future because of that. She continues to struggle with feeding issues and we are very happy with the counseling and support we are getting from the feeding clinic.
Children's Hospital of Milwaukee has gotten us through the hardest times in our lives. The excellent professionals there have gotten her through two open-heart surgery's and will conduct one more. The staff is nothing less than exceptional. They go above and beyond every time we are there. We are so lucky to have this facility nearby. We'd be lost without it.
In 2007 our 11 year old daughter suddenly went into heart failure. When this happened we were told to say our good-byes as there was a very good chance she would not make it. Due to the expertise of the staff of Children's, Erica is still here with us today. Within 48 hours of Erica going into heart failure, she was diagnosed with a rare disease called Takayasu Arteritis and dilated cardio-myopathy. Erica spent the next 30 days at Children's. During that time the staff became like family to us. We saw them cheering with our highs and tearing with our lows. As you can imagine our daughter was very sick and very scared. Dr. Nancy would sit next to Erica and talk with her, comfort her and engage her in conversation that would take her mind off what was happening. Every staff member that entered her room showed nothing but compassion and concern. Not only did they tend to Erica's needs, they also took care of our families needs. Always explaining what was happening, making sure we understood and making us feel like Erica was one of their own family members. Erica is still being seen by many specialists at Children's and it amazes when we see staff that have cared for her, they know her by name and ALWAYS take a minute or two to ask how she is doing and chat with her. From the parking attendants, to volunteers, to public relations people, to cafe workers, to the nurses, doctors and specializes, Children's Hospital is a blessing to our community.
When my third son was born 6 weeks early with a heart troubles and had several stays with them in the NICU and in the PICU, I never fekt so compfortable concidering the situation. The staff made sure we knew what was going on at all times, and answered our questions. If a nurse didn't know an answer to one of our questions, she would make sure to find out for us. Having spent almost 6 weeks total down there, we got to know our sons nurses and doctors pretty well, and they were all amazing!
We love Children's Hospital of WI. Our experience was with their NICU staff. My first child, Zachary, was born at 29 weeks. He weighed 2lbs 2oz and was 14 inches long at birth. He was hospitalized for 66 days and during the course of that stay he not only battled all of the prematurity issues, but also had a battle with Staph and Rotovirus. I cannot begin to explain the stress level when your first child is born prematurely. It is a constant struggle everyday dealing with all of the ups and downs of a preemie. The staff at Children's Hospital of WI Fox Valley was phenomal! Not only did they care for Zachary, but they cared for our entire family. The day of his discharge was so exciting and terrifying, but also a day of sadness, since it felt like we were leaving family behind, because each and every person that is involved with the NICU feels like family. Little did we know that we would experience the NICU twice. Our second child, Madelyn, was born at 32 weeks gestation and weighed 3lbs 4oz and was 15 inches long. She was hospitalized for 32 days. The second visit to the NICU seemed a lot less traumatic. It is still stressful leaving your baby behind, but this time I was very knowledgeable about the staff and all of the procedures so I think that helped us a lot. I cannot say enough good things about the NICU team from Children's. They are all wonderful people and have enriched our lives so much by taking such good care of our children when they were at their most fragile states.
CHW has kept our child alive for 9 years to date! We visit every week or at least every 12 days and love Harold, the nurses, the doctors, the Radiologist and the ambassador's ! We just love our Children's Hospital since our child was kept alive in NICU on May 7, 2001 and today we love that we have help, care and wonderful knowledge of medical treatments to help us keep Bret living one more day.YOU ROCK
My son was 21-mths old when we were sent to CHW and he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia..From the first day he was admitted til now, we could be more thankful to have the staff on East 5 HOT and Oncology Clinic to help us along the way. We have had unexpected visits and they were right here to help us through the tough times. Its been a year since we first came to CHW and I wouldnt have changed my experience one bit. I would recommend this hospital for any oncology visit. CHW ROCKS!!
My daughter was born with a major heart defect and was taken to Childrens Hospital within the first day of life. Since then she has had open heart surg., had 4 implanted pacemakers and had a stroke just days prior to her 21st birthday. All her hospital experiences were at Childrens Hosp. As a parent when your child tells you to sleep at home because she is safe and comfortable enough to sleep at the hospital without me, that means the world to someone who has slept in the room or gone without sleep until your child wakes up! Thank you Childrens Hospital for all you do. We will be coming back for a heart transplant, we wouldn't have it done anywhere else.
FOLLOWING THE EMERGENCY C-SECTION DELIVERY OF MY DAUGHTER, ALICIA, SHE WAS IN RESPIRATORY DISTRESS, SO THE DOCTOR AND NURSES STARTED RESURSCITATION EFFORTS, BUT HER CONDITION WAS NOT IMPROVING. THERE WERE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS MADE TO INTUBATE HER AND DURING THIS TIME HER LUNG HAD COLLAPSED. ALICIA WAS THEN TRANSFERRED TO THE NICU OF CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN-FOX VALLEY WHERE SHE WAS TREATED FOR RIGHT TENSION PHEUMOTHORAX (A HOLE IN THE LUNG) AND LOW BLOOD PRESSURE. ALICIA WAS PUT ON A RESPIRATOR AND HAD A CHEST TUBE INSERTED TO HELP HER BREATH, SHE WAS IN CRITICAL CONDITION BUT STABLE. A FEW DAYS LATER ALICIA DEVELOPED PNEUMONIA WHICH THE NURSES EXPLAINED WAS VERY COMMON WITH THIS TYPE OF CONDITION. THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WERE ALSO MONITORING ALICIA FOR A HEART MURMUR TOO. SHE WAS UNABLE TO NURSE OR DRINK SO SHE HAD TO BE TUBE FEED FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL DAYS. WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT A WEEK OLD SHE STARTED TO DRINK SMALL AMOUNTS BUT WAS STILL STRUGGLING WITH HER BREATHING. SHE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO BREATH AND ALSO NURSE, BUT SHE WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN HER BODY WEIGHT WITH THE TUBE FEEDINGS AND FLUIDS SHE WAS RECEIVING. ONCE THE PNEUNOMIA CLEARED SHE STARTED EATING ON HER OWN VERY QUICKLY. ALICIA RECEIVED HER LIFE SAVING TREATMENT AND CARE FOR THE TEN DAYS AT THE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL WHERE ALL THE DOCTORS AND NURSES TREATED YOU LIKE YOU WERE FAMILY AND ALWAYS EXPLAINED ALL THE PROCEDURES AND TREATMENTS IN TERMS THAT MY FAMILY AND I COULD UNDERSTAND. IF WE HAD ANY QUESTIONS THEY ALWAYS HAD OR WOULD GET AN ANSWER. ALICIA IS NOW ONE YEARS OLD AND IS A VERY HEALTHY ENERGETIC GIRL. YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED THAT SHE HAD SUCH A DIFFICULT START INTO LIFE. I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE LOVING SUPPORT AND CARE THAT ALICIA AND I RECEIVED AT THE NICU OF CHILDRENS HOSPITAL OF WISCONSIN-FOX VALLEY THAT WORDS CANNOT EXPLAIN. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AND BLESS THE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL FOR ALL THE DEDICATION AND WORK FOR ALL THE SPECIAL CARE THAT THEY GIVE TO ALL THE CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES AT THE CHILDRENS HOSPITAL'S.
My son, Eltayrius, was in the Children's Hospital in Milwaukee for 64 days after he was born. He was in the NICU. Eltayrius was born two and a half months early at three pounds. He had many problems when he was born. The staff in the NICU helped me so much. When I needed a hug they gave me a hug. If I needed information about what was going on, they were there to explain it to me.There is one thing that sticks in my head. I was going to see my baby for the first time. I went into the POD and saw my baby and just fell over in tears. The nurse came to me and said everything is going to work out and you have to be strong for him. She helped me up and gave me the biggest hug. I could feel how much she cared about him and his family. The doctors were also wonderful. It was great to see a group of five or six doctors consulting about my baby. I knew he was getting the best care possible. I can not express how much the staff at Children's helped me through that time. Living an hour away and being winter time, I could not always make it to the hospital to see my precious baby boy. I would call and the nurses would always inform me about everything that happened during the day and night. The nurses always stayed positive through everything. There are so many positive things that I can say about this hospital. The staff felt like family when I walked out the hospital with my baby. The negatives of having a premature baby where turned into a positive by the great care he recieved and the love our family got from all the staff members.
Our son Parker has spent a good portion of his life at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. We knew that he was sick before he was born. The technical diagnosis is "bilateral kidney dispaysia". For all of us who are not doctors, this means that neither of his kidneys worked. He spent the first 128 days of his life in the NICU, and has been re-admitted 16 times since that first discahrge. He has been through 12 surgeries, some minor, and some very major. The last of which was his kidney transplant. It has been 16 weeks since my wife donated one of her kidneys to Parker, and thye are both doing great. The doctors and nurses took very good care of both Parker and Lindsay throughout the transplant evaluation, the surgery itself and follow up care. I know first hand how brilliant doctors at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin are. The quality of care that has been provided by the nurses is unbelievable. They take care of not only the patient, but also the family of the patient. The entire staff, from the volunteers to the facility service workers all truly care about the patient. This is an amazing facility that people from all over the United States travale to, and we are fortunate enough to have it right in our back yard.
My son arrived at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin by helicopter. He had contracted Meningococcemia, a deadly bacterial infection in his blood. He was given excellent medical care. He spent 161 days as a patient at CHW. Not only were his medical needs taken care of, but also his emotional needs. The staff at Children's took care of our entire family making sure we had everything we needed to cope with our situation. We were always kept informed about every aspect of our child's care. Our son was being seen by many different departments (orthopedic, plastics, rehab, nephrology...) and we had regularly scheduled care conferences which were meetings where all of the departments were represented and all care could be coordinated. Despite suffering amputations to all four extremities, our son is living a normal life and doing almost everything a teenage boy should be able to do. We have made many friends at Children's. Even though the hospital is two hours from where we live, we continue to use their services because we know our son will receive the best care possible.