At Children’s Health, incredible moments — moments of friendship, healing and hope — happen even in the hardest circumstances.
For Penny and Bo, incredible moments looked like performing songs with our music therapists and cuddles with our loveable therapy dogs. Moments of play and joy essential to care and only found at Children's Health.
These moments don’t happen by chance; they happen because of extraordinary teams and generous donor support.
While their diagnoses and care journeys are different, Penny and Bo are connected by who they are – creative, outgoing kids who refused to let illness define their childhood. At Children’s Health, both found more than expert medical care – they found moments of joy, self-expression and belonging that allowed them to keep being kids, even during tough moments, too.
From hosting shows on Seacrest Studios (the system’s internal TV network) to creating, performing and connecting with others, Penny and Bo experienced moments that lifted their spirits and reminded them — and their families — that kids can still be kids at Children’s Health, no matter what they face.
Bo
“Had we arrived at Children’s Health minutes or a couple of hours later, things could have not turned out the way they did. It could have turned out worse.”
— Shannon, Bo's Father
Penny
“There were a lot of things that came up when Penny was in congestive heart failure where we thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we going to get through this? But we got through it, because her team got to the core of the issue in just the right amount of time. And they just care so much about helping kids get better.”
– Paula, Penny’s Mom
Your gifts make incredible moments, milestones, outcomes and advances possible.
Over 300,000 patients seen each year
50+ pediatric specialty and subspecialty programs
20,000 surgeries
More than 1,200 active clinical research studies
You make a difference in the lives of North Texas children and beyond when you give to Children's Health. As our community grows, we remain committed to sustaining Children’s Health Founder Nurse May Smith’s spirit of courage, excellence and service to kids and families, while providing world-class care.
Looking ahead, Children's Health is planning for explosive growth in the pediatric population and rapidly evolving patient needs. Children and their families depend on us for advanced and specialized care, but we need you by our side. We’re excited for you to be a part of this journey and help us accomplish the incredible, together.
Extraordinary dreams come true every day at Children’s Health.
From big wishes to small hopes, our team — with the power of the mighty red balloon — makes the impossible possible now and for the next generation of kids.
Because like many of our patients, this red balloon is small but powerful. And just like our kids, at Children’s Health, we dream big.
We dream of seemingly impossible discoveries that lead to possible cures for pediatric illnesses and diseases. We dream of a healthier community for all North Texas children. And in collaboration with our colleagues at UT Southwestern Medical Center, we dreamt of building one of the country’s largest and most transformative pediatric hospitals.
Noa has needed medical help to breathe since she was born, but thanks to expert care from Children’s Health, she can now breathe on her own and do things her family couldn’t have imagined before.
When KK learned of her leukemia diagnosis at Children’s Health, she felt overcome by a “wave of acceptance.” But with her family, care team and the health system’s leading-edge research on her side, she wasn’t ready to give up.
Living with no sacrum means a lot of medications and difficulty going to the bathroom. But Jace has learned what his body requires — from a care team who has inspired him to want to help other kids in the hospital.
What started off as a fun day in the snow turned into one of the scariest moments in Heidi and her family’s life. After her accident, her dedicated care team at Children’s Health helped her learn how to walk, eat and talk again.
2-year-old Grayson spends several days a week at Children’s Health undergoing treatment for a rare kidney condition. His family is grateful for a place where he’s always felt welcomed and loved.
Although Dallas has spent countless hours at Children’s Health to receive treatments for a rare condition, he mostly remembers the fun he had at the hospital and the heroes he met along his care journey.
Coco’s care team at Children’s Health used leading-edge technology to plan her complex heart care months before she was born. Today, she’s getting into the routine of going to preschool.
After other hospitals failed to provide answers, Bo’s family rushed him to Children’s Health℠. His care team listened to the then-10-year-old, which helped them discover an infection in Bo’s brain that led to four surgeries.
When AJ was younger, his feeding disorder made it difficult for him to eat almost anything, which impacted his growth and nutrition. After attending the feeding therapy program at Children’s Health, he’s developed a better relationship with food.
Physicians at his local hospital couldn’t figure out the cause of Dawson’s tummy ache. A two-hour drive to Children’s Health provided the family with the answers and care they needed.
In search of better treatment for Samantha’s ongoing kidney problems, her grandmother found the care and the “family” they needed at Children’s Health.
Born with congenital heart defects, Easton spent most of his first year of life at Children’s Health. His care team members helped his family feel at home at the hospital and inspired them to give back.
Diagnosis: Cardiology, pulmonology and gastroenterology
Location: Dallas
Born with a group of birth defects undetected in utero, Elizabeth wasn’t getting better and was running out of options when her family called Children’s Health
Victoria was one of the first patients at Children's Health Plano to receive a revolutionary immunotherapy treatment. Now, she’s paving the way for other kids with leukemia.
Diagnosis: Cerebral palsy and rare genetic disorder
Location: Dallas
For more than a decade, RH’s care has involved collaborating with numerous specialists across the Children’s Health system to help a boy who cannot talk.
When 2-year-old Cori suddenly lost movement, her mom fought for answers. A rare diagnosis, a first-of-its-kind treatment—now, Cori has a second chance.
Last year, Sydney became too sick to stay at school. Now she’s back with her bright smile. The only thing different about Sydney is her heart – and her liver.
Growing up, Aaron spent a lot of time in hospitals. His diagnosis remained a mystery to his family for years, until one doctor found he had been born with Alagille syndrome.
When a rare nerve disorder caused paralysis in her body and face, Amulya and her family turned to Children’s Health to get her back on her feet and regain her smile.
A ruptured, 3-millimeter brain aneurysm wiped Anabelle’s memory and personality. Her family and Children’s Health care team stood by her as she recovered.
After their daughter was born with a congenital heart defect, Tara and Daniel thanked her care team the best way they knew how: an investment in the future of Children’s Health.
Serenity was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) likely caused by an infection from an enterovirus - a common virus that usually causes mild symptoms.
Brandi found out that her son, Brantley, had this congenital heart defect when she was only 16 weeks pregnant. She knew that he would face tough challenges.
Thanks to her daily medications, Emma, 15, lives a pretty typical life. Her eclectic interests range from making soap and bath bombs to reading and archery.
Her aplastic anemia came on suddenly and intensely. The previously energetic sixth-grader began experiencing crushing fatigue, bouts of bleeding from her gums and frequent blood transfusions.
At age 2, Lincoln was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a fast-growing cancer that begins in the bone marrow and spreads out to the body through the blood.
In 2023, Olivia celebrated the 5-year anniversary of her transplant conducted at The Heart Center at Children's Health in Dallas - the place she calls the balloon hospital.
Diagnosis: Congenital Heart Defect and Cerebral Palsy
Amelia wants to be a doctor when she grows up. She wants to help people, just like the physicians and nurses at Children's Health have helped her since she was a baby.
For a while, 5-year-old Shay wanted to be a doctor for babies when she grew up. But these days, she's all about the pizza. She might want to work at a pizza place or be a pizza maker.
Summer and Travis rode a rollercoaster of emotions since becoming pregnant - with one valley being a routine ultrasound at 20 weeks revealing that their daughter Stella's brain wasn't forming as expected.
Diagnosed with heart failure, Riley lay in her hospital bed at Children’s Health℠ in Dallas thinking about the day that completely sidelined her active life.
“One minute Ricky was starting summer vacation and sleeping over at his best friend’s house, and the next we were rushing to the ER in Dallas,” Priscilla said.
Maddie Jo took her diagnosis in stride. A bubbly, outgoing kid, she kept a positive attitude and simply told her mom “okay, what’s next?” after each appointment.
Drew can no longer play high-impact sports like soccer, baseball or basketball. He can’t risk an impact to his jaw, which was weakened by a rare form of cancer. But he can put up the fight of a lifetime.
Clayton's diagnosis began during a trip to the pediatrician, prompted because they noticed his belly was distended and beginning to protrude more to one side.
For the past 6 years, Annabella and her family have sponsored and decorated a Christmas tree that brightens the lobby of the Solid Organ Transplant Center at the Children’s Health℠ Dallas Campus.
When you first meet Amairy, now 6, she can be shy, but her reserved nature certainly doesn't define her. She's even been known to have two-hour dance parties with her child life specialist.
Diagnosis: Intractable constipation and colonic dysmotility
"Before Children's Health, Adalynn was sick and throwing up and nobody could explain it. The doctors at Children's Health did the research and testing and kept fighting to figure out why she was getting so sick. We would not be here if it was not for Children's Health."
Living with heterotaxy syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that can affect the development of important systems like the heart and gastrointestinal tract, Kaleb wouldn't be here without our innovative team at Children's Health.
Riya was born extremely premature. Despite her tenacity, she passed away at 4 1/2 months old. Now, her parents are on a mission: Raise $75,000 in her honor.
After being diagnosed with leukemia, Thiago and his mother Laura went to Children's Health to heal. Now in remission, Thiago is back in school and thriving.
After an asthma attack almost took her life as a kindergartener, Aarini is giving back to Children's Health through her art and by talking about her experience.
More than a year ago, Hank finished his last round of chemotherapy. Team members celebrated the milestone with a Spiderman-themed party full of superhero costumes and a banner that read “Peace Out Chemo.”
Preston was only a freshman in high school when a surgeon in the emergency room at Childre's Health told him he'd have to remove one of his testicles after a tumor that had caused it to swell to three times its normal size.
After spiking a 106 degree fever and having uncontrolled vomiting, Kasen was rushed to Children's Health Plano. Within three days, he had started chemotherapy for leukemia.
Born with Alagille syndrome -- a rare, life-threatening liver disease, Axel found a new chance at life through his liver transplant at Children's Health.
The moment when Lincoln's tumor grew - so big that he couldn't breathe through his mouth and struggled to breathe through his nose -- was one of the scariest for Lincoln's parents, Shelly and Chris.
Brothers Tanner and Caleb are like a lot of siblings. They tease and fight - all in good natured brotherly love. And they're also each other's biggest defenders.
“My granddaughter is everything to me. I wanted the best for her, and I knew Children’s Health had the expertise to give us answers and get Kadence on a healthier path,” Kadence's grandmother Deondriea said.
Zoey was 18 months old when she was rushed to Children's Health after a near-drowning accident. On a feeding tube and barely moving, a long road to recovery began.
Leone's parents dress up as superheroes during his treatments at Children's Medical Center Dallas to make him feel like he can defeat anything - even cancer.
A refugee from war-torn Yemen, Raina's childhood was chaotic, and she struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. Searching for control in an unpredictable world, she focused on one thing she could determine: how much food she ate.
Born with Down syndrome, Valeria already saw a number of specialists at Children’s Health for asthma and sleep apnea before she was diagnosed with leukemia.
Born with a rare liver disease, Annabella was five months old when she was put on the list for a liver transplant at Children’s Health. And a few months later, her family got the call: There was a new liver for Annabella.
"I want Eli to have a normal life," Eli's dad said. "And the only thing I want to be different about him is the scar on his chest, which is a badge of honor for going through what he did."
In June, Reagan combined his love of baseball and his desire to increase awareness of sickle cell at a baseball tournament that was held on World Sickle Cell Day.
While Carlos and his family waited for a new heart at Children's Medical Center Dallas, they found friendship and support from fellow heart patient families.
A victim of online bullying, Abby questioned her worth. 'What if I wasn't here anymore?' she thought. That's when her journey led her to the SPARC program at Children's Health.
If you spent time with the always-smiling Myra, you'd never believe she was in an unthinkable battle against mixed phenotype acute leukemia for most of her life.
Crossing the finish line at a 5K is something Mitchell wasn't sure he'd ever be able to do. Because of physical therapy done at Children's Health, now he's running as much as he can.
Arriving at 24 weeks and five days, Kepley James entered the world at 1 pound, 10 ounces. Still so small that you could see her lungs through the skin on her chest.
"As of that moment, our lives would never be the same," Arya's mom said. "I felt strongly that if God has chosen me to care for her, then my job was to do whatever it takes to do exactly that."
Diagnosis: Congenital Heart Defect and Cerebral Palsy
Looking at this bubbly 5-year-old, you wouldn't know she had a complex medical history, and that when she was a baby, the Children's Health foster clinic saved her life.
Adopted at birth, Addison suffered from frequent ear infections and severe balance issues, which compromised her hearing and delayed her walking until she was almost 18 months old.
One of our Halloween-loving patients, Noah, made a special trip to Spirit Halloween to get a behind-the-scenes look at how their spooky animatronics work.
Her aunt taught her how to apply blush to accentuate her cheekbones and eyeliner to brighten her eyes. But no one prepared Camila on how to fight cancer.
A muggy Friday evening in late May, wearing a polyester blue gown over a shirt and tie, is not the typical stuff of teenage dreams. But Davion fought for his life to not miss this moment.
"We'd sang her a million-and-one songs trying to put her to bed or rock her to sleep at night, and she'd never heard any of it," Finley's mom said. "She'd never even heard us say, 'I love you.'"
Elaine, a mother of four, doesn't take for granted the chance to rock her youngest, Obie. For the first two months of his life, Elaine couldn't hold him. An incubator at Children's Health was his crib.
Friends and neighbors of PGA golfer John Senden used to ask how to improve their golf game when they'd see him. Now, they want to know how his 15-year-old son is doing.
For six months, a Children's Health hospital room adorned with cutouts of butterflies, hearts and unicorns has been a temporary home for 2-year-old Zena and her mom, Kenda.
During her journey at Children's Health, Hanna collected more than 700 Beads of Courage to represent different milestones or treatments, more than any other patient in the trauma program.
