Earlier this month, our patient art show kicked off our holiday celebrations! Each December, our festive patient art is displayed in the Atrium of Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth. Santa joined us this year to visit with families and paint alongside patients. It was a creative and cheerful afternoon with Santa! 

Mrs. Claus stopped by our Child Life Zone to show our patients and families how the elves make ornaments and decorate cookies in the North Pole! Everyone had a fun morning and went home with their very own copy of The Sugar Plum Bakers: A Tale of 12 Holiday Treats. 

All aboard! The Polar Express made a special stop at Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth this morning to take patients and their families on a train ride to the North Pole! Everyone got to meet the Polar Express Conductor, sip on hot chocolate, create holiday crafts, pick out their own pair of pajamas to keep and make magical memories. 

Holiday cheer decked the halls of the medical center during our festive sing-a-long concert!

Ace Hardware delivered Christmas trees and holiday magic to Cook Children’s! Each patient was thrilled to create a tree of their own and decorate cookies. 

The Grinch stopped by Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. He brought lots of jokes, joy and holiday jolly. Our hearts grew three sizes! 

Santa Claus made a visit up north to Cook Children's Medical Center -- Prosper on Friday! Patients and families enjoyed creating holiday arts and crafts and visiting with Santa. Santa and Mrs. Claus made time out of their busy schedules to sit and listen with each patient, who shared what they're looking forward to this holiday season. 

It was a very Merry Cowboys Christmas this morning! The Dallas Cowboys stopped by for their annual visit with Cook Children's patients on Dec. 8, 2025. 

Football players and cheerleaders surprised patients in multiple departments at the Fort Worth Medical Center to spread some holiday cheer. Everyone was so excited to greet the team!

Each child receives a stocking loaded with goodies from the Dallas Cowboys and a special toy provided by the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Gene Jones, the entire Cowboys team has conducted annual holiday visits to local children’s hospitals for the past 36 years – a very special tradition that we are all grateful to experience.

Media partners may use this content for news stories and broadcasts with credit to Cook Children's.

The Grinch stopped by on Wednesday with lots of laughs to share and stories to tell. Our hearts grew three sizes! 

At our annual Christmas party on Thursday morning, patients and their families were invited to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, participate in arts and crafts and pick out a stuffed stocking with special gifts! 

Santa also made time to visit the Prosper Medical Center! Patients enjoyed decorating trees, painting snowflakes, and picking out toys on Thursday morning. 

Everyone enjoyed celebrating at the Christmas parties!

Football players and cheerleaders surprised patients in multiple departments at the Fort Worth Medical Center to spread some holiday cheer. Everyone was so excited to greet the team, especially after their Thanksgiving Day win against the New York Giants!

Each child receives a stocking loaded with goodies from the Dallas Cowboys and a special toy provided by the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Gene Jones, the entire Cowboys team has conducted annual holiday visits to local children’s hospitals for the past 35 years – a very special tradition that we are all grateful to experience.

Media partners may use this content for news stories and broadcasts with credit to Cook Children's.

The Grinch stopped by on Monday with lots of laughs to share and stories to tell. Our hearts grew three sizes! 

Santa and Mrs. Claus delivered presents, arts and crafts, and sweet treats to the Fort Worth Medical Center on Tuesday morning. Many patients also received a bike and a helmet graciously donated by Bikes For Angels. 

Santa also made time to visit the Prosper Medical Center! Patients enjoyed decorating trees, painting snowflakes, and picking out toys on Wednesday morning. 

Everyone enjoyed celebrating at the Christmas parties!

By Ashley Pagenkopf, MS, CCLS, Child Life Specialist at Cook Children's

This is my absolute favorite season! While I desire to be super intentional with my kids year-round, this time of year makes me step up my game. I want to take advantage of all the opportunities that there are in our community to serve, and I desperately desire for serving others to be part of my kids DNA. Sometimes it can feel daunting, though, to know how to serve with your kids in tow. There are also roadblocks with some organizations surrounding children and age. However, our family has found some great opportunities to serve the community and those around us as family even when our kids were little bitty, and we’ve had a fun time doing it! Our kids actually look forward to our serving traditions around this time of year.

My encouragement to you is to keep it simple, reasonable, and age appropriate. Keeping it simple means that we choose a few things where all our girls can participate, and there are not many steps to it. Reasonable means that the time it takes needs to fit with our schedule of school and bedtime and the need for rest on the weekends. We don’t want serving to be a bummer, so we have to keep things at a reasonable time frame during a reasonable time of day. Age-appropriate means that you don’t take your toddlers into a situation that they cannot experience what is happening and actually help with the tasks. Help them find ways that they can help kids that are their age and serve in ways that they can experience it with you.

Serving is such an amazing way for your kids to think beyond themselves and put others before themselves. While there are countless ways that you could serve in our community, I want to highlight a few ideas that provide an opportunity for whole families to serve together from super young to older kids. 

• Start with the people around you. Take dinner to a neighbor or deliver cookies or a small plant to a few neighbors. Do you have an elderly friend in your life that could use a small dinner or an ice cream treat? Think of those that are right around you and plan a simple act of service that your kids can deliver and experience.
• Prepare bags or meals for the homeless. We do this in two different ways in our family. We make bags that stay in our car, and we can hand them out when we see a person in need while we are driving or shopping somewhere. Our kids help us pack bags together. We will plan one night where we have all the snacks and such ready to pack and we make a family assembly line to pack the bags. Our bags include water, non-perishable snacks, and usually a beanie and some gloves in the winter. Your kiddos will love participating in putting the bags together. Often, I ask my girls to write a note to include in the bags so that there is something encouraging for the people we meet. They receive so much joy when we hand a bag out – they feel like they have really helped someone. We also have begun making bagged lunches for the Presbyterian Night Shelter. This is an easy way for us to make a meal for the homeless. Our girls are all just now old enough to be able to go to the shelter and serve a meal, but this is a way that they have been able to participate until they were old enough. We make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and add some non-perishable sides in the bag. Again, we make an assembly line and pack bags and deliver them to the shelter. Usually, my girls put stickers or decorate the bags. It is a delight for them!
• Buy some small presents for the local hospital or children’s organizations. For years since my girls were super little, we take a day to go to the dollar store and buy coloring books and puzzles for Cook Children’s and then we take time to deliver them as a family. My girls have the best time picking out specific coloring books and puzzles. I typically give them each a limit to what they can get. Then we go and enjoy the holiday decorations at the hospital and usually indulge in a treat together.  You could also take our wish list and let your kids pick an item or items from the list to donate. We always have needs at the hospital. This is a great way to include your kids in the hospital needs before they are of age to volunteer.
• Adopt a family to serve or purchase gifts for. Every year our family chooses an Angel Tree family. This is something that you can do as a family or combine with another one or two families to complete the lists. This is another great way for your kids to think beyond themselves during this season and get to be intentional and thoughtful about the gifts they are giving to other children. We often try to pick families that have kids similar ages to our kids so that they have a little easier time knowing what they would enjoy.
• Encourage your kids to pick a few toys to donate. This is a great time to have kids take inventory of their stuff and start to think about things that they use and don’t use. If there are things that they don’t play with, this is a good time to donate some things to secondhand stores or shelters so that other families and kids can enjoy what they are done enjoying.
• Serve those that serve us. Every year we make several batches of cookies for the firehouse closest to our home. We take some time to deliver the cookies and thank the men and women that serve us every day. The girls typically write a letter or draw a picture for them. You could also do this for your local police station or make some treats for the teachers at your kids’ school or your neighborhood school.  
• One other organization that I would like to highlight is Beautiful Feet. Your whole family is able to serve with this organization and you do not have to schedule your time, but you could go consistently (once a month). You can show up for any of their volunteer times to prepare food, sort clothes or spend time with people. Children of all ages are welcome as long as they are accompanied by an adult. This is a great place to serve as a family and invite a friend along to serve with you.

While this is not an exhaustive list of ways to serve, it is a great place to start and include your whole family. There are opportunities all around us to see others and serve them. It is vital that we teach our children to see others and see needs beyond themselves. These ideas are not just reserved for this season – there are needs throughout the year and ways to bless others that go beyond the holiday season. Allow this season to be a launching pad for your family into service and love together!

Football players and cheerleaders surprised patients in multiple departments at the Fort Worth Medical Center to spread some holiday cheer. Everyone was so excited to greet the team, especially after Thursday's win against the Seattle Seahawks!

Each child receives a stocking loaded with goodies from the Dallas Cowboys and a special toy provided by the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Gene Jones, the entire Cowboys team has conducted annual holiday visits to local children’s hospitals for the past 34 years – a very special tradition that we are all grateful to experience.

Media partners may use this content for news stories and broadcasts with credit to Cook Children's.

Santa Claus stopped by to visit our tiniest patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to spread Christmas cheer. The babies were dressed in festive outfits to celebrate their first Christmas.

With Christmas around the corner, parents are scrambling to find the perfect gifts for their kids. December is National Safe Toys and Gifts Month, and many of the toys sold in stores and online pose significant dangers to kids of all ages including water beads recently highlighted in the news. Once swallowed, the beads may swell inside the intestine creating a potentially life-threatening blockage.

“Unfortunately the water beads are not always visible on an X-ray, and typically we have to monitor closely to see if any concerning symptoms begin to appear such as vomiting, abdominal pain or distension,” said Bianka Soria-Olmos, D.O., pediatrician and Medical Advisor for Digital Health at Cook Children’s.

Last year, more than 200,000 toy-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments with 74% of those sustained by children 14 years old or younger. Forty-six percent of the injuries were to the head and face – the most commonly affected areas of the body. 

Sharon Evans, trauma injury prevention coordinator at Cook Children’s, says that looking at the recommended age displayed on the toy packaging is often overlooked and more important than people realize.

“The age is set on the research of what is appropriate for mental and physical development and safety,” Evans said. “It doesn’t mean your child is not smart or mature.”

Evans says one of the gifts she would definitely say no to are the Airsoft or Nerf guns – and anything that shoots objects – because the hospital sees a lot of eye injuries from those.

Use these safe toy guidelines when shopping for your children:

• Avoid buying toys with sharp points or other dangerous edges.
• Do not buy toys with small magnets or button batteries which can cause serious injury or death if ingested.
• Buy toys that will withstand impact and not break easily.
• Look for “ASTM” on the label. This means the product meets the national safety standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.
• Always include protective gear with sports equipment.
• Do not buy toys with long strings or cords as these can become wrapped around a child’s neck.
• Do not give toys with small parts to young children. If the object fits inside a toilet paper roll or if pieces from the toy could break off and fit into the roll, it is not appropriate for kids younger than 3.
• Always dispose of uninflated or broken balloons immediately. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more children have suffocated from them than any other type of toy.
• Do not buy crayons or markers unless they are labeled nontoxic.

Video by Tom Riehm. Photos by Lauren Graham and Eline Wiggins.

Football players and cheerleaders surprised patients in multiple departments at the Medical Center to spread some holiday cheer. There were extra smiles from that win over the Houston Texans!

Each child receives a stocking loaded with goodies from the Dallas Cowboys and a special toy provided by the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Gene Jones, the entire Cowboys team has conducted annual holiday visits to local children’s hospitals for the past 33 years – with the last two years being held virtually due to the pandemic.

Media partners may use this content for news stories and broadcasts with credit to Cook Children's.

For the second year in a row, Randall Grubbs, M.D., neonatologist, wore a jolly red suit, white beard and proper PPE to spread holiday cheer to the babies, families and staff in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 

Larger-than-life holiday displays cover the grounds, garland and candy cane ribbon wrap every light pole, a 32-foot tree stands in the front circle and rumor has it... you can spot the thousands of Christmas lights all the way from the North Pole!

Although Christmas at Cook Children's seems to appear overnight after Thanksgiving, it takes months of preparation and planning to create the magic. Much like Santa has his elves to help him spread cheer, Cook Children's has Martin Aguado, Facilities Appearance Manager, and his team. Martin's crew works incredibly hard and partners with a couple of vendors to deck the halls at Cook Children's. 

"Facilities Appearance starts to prep around springtime," Martin said. "We begin by taking care of any exterior appearance needs, including landscaping. It takes the whole team and some of our vendors to make this place look as good as it does."

Martin has been at Cook Children's for nearly 10 years and he enjoys his unique position of interacting with the whole organization. When describing his leadership style Martin said, "I consider myself a listener and I allow my team to accomplish their goals by supporting them. I am hands-on with many of my team's tasks and step in to help them in any way possible. I like to describe it as 'coaching leadership' and will support their goals and help them strengthen their weaknesses." 

"I love that I am a people person and don't mind helping out," he said. "My day-to-day could be meetings and office work, but it changes as needs occur. I am always ready to do what is scheduled and unscheduled."

Martin has one of the most contagious smiles on campus, even under his mask during the pandemic. He co-leads a team of 11 to ensure the Fort Worth campus looks as good as possible at all times, but this time of year is what drives them to see the patients, families and staff with their own smiles when they see the outcome.

“I cannot express my appreciation and gratitude for Martin and the appearance team enough,” says Nick Markham, Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Campus Services, and Martin’s manager. “We have the best-looking campus and hospital in the world, and Martin is a gigantic role in that. I am so proud of everything he has and will continue to accomplish in his career.”

Some patients, families and staff call Cook Children’s ‘home’ during the holidays and Martin and his team make their time here as joyful as possible. Walk in the medical center, and you will see people in the Atrium taking pictures and sitting by even more Christmas trees, wreaths, elves, and a giant throne for Santa. 

Step outside and the giant Christmas tree in the front circle is the easiest to spot, but the Dillard Garden is the favorite area among patient families and the community. Every night in December you can find families strolling around and taking pictures in front of the displays, driving by in their warm cars or running and cycling through campus. The decorations have also been known to make a Christmas card or two!

The Facilities Appearance team adds more lights and decorations each holiday season and it would be difficult to miss two of the new displays this year. The iconic rows of crepe myrtles that lined the drive to the medical center front entrance were removed following the winter storm in North Texas in February 2020. A glowing shooting star that changes colors now fills the space this season. The second new display this year is a 22-foot motif of Peaks the Dragon and can be found in Dillard Garden.

"Out of all the Christmas displays, the Dillard Garden would be my favorite," he shared. "I can walk through it every time I'm outside and it's special to drive by in the morning when I get here at 6 a.m."

The next time you and your family see Cook Children's at Christmas, we hope you think of - and thank - Martin and the entire Facilities Appearance team for helping make the spirits bright. 

1. Books!

For infants and toddlers, there are chew-proof, waterproof, rip-proof brands of books available. Just do a quick Goolgle search. Classics like Dr. Seuss, Little Critter, and Curious George still are favorites too.

For elementary age and teens, start them on a series based on their interests. American Girl, Magic Treehouse, The Land of Stories, Eerie Elementary, The Babysitters Club, Survivors, Warriors, Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, Goosebumps, Humphrey, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Wings of Fire, and The Hardy Boys are all excellent options.

2. An Activity Center

Great for keeping infants busy while you’re able to get other things done. Do NOT use a walker, this puts the baby’s hips in the wrong position and delays walking.

3. Blocks

All sorts of blocks are available online and in stores these days. Just make sure they are appropriate to prevent choking risk.

4. Board Games

Games are a great option to create family time away from screens. If you played a board or card game as a kid, chances are your child will enjoy it.

5. Bike

Tricycle, Bicycle, Scooter. Make sure it is age and size appropriate for your child, and they MUST WEAR A HELMET!

6. Arts & Crafts

Paints, sand art, beads, diamond painting, suncatchers, rainbow scratch paper, molding clay, candle making, origami, felt sewing craft kit. Low-cost dollar stores often sell wooden figures to paint, so that’s a great place to stock up on cheap and easy crafting projects.

7. Fort Building Kit

Buy one or several kits for the kiddos to make an awesome fort, tear it down, and then make again in a different way!

8. Sports equipment

Basketball goal, soccer ball and goal, baseball tee, ballet barre. Let your children pursue their current sport of interest and invest in increasing their skills and confidence.

Notice the above listed toys do not suggest any electronics. The only game system game I would recommend is one where they are up and active the entire time. Remember, aside from school work, your child should have less than two hours per day on any screen including: phone, TV, gaming system, and computer. Your child would rather spend the time with you, playing a board game or being active outside, than sitting by themselves playing on a game system.

Have a very Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and enjoy any and all other celebrations your family takes part in!

Well, we made it to December. What a year! Ups and downs, good and bad.It’s nearly the end of 2020. After a more casual and calm Thanksgiving, it’s now time to gear up for all the December celebrations including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve.

It’s a magical time and can still be magical even if we have to celebrate in a different way this year. I really want to stress how important it is to just stay at home with only your family unit. Rethink those travel plans; you can instead Zoom and FaceTime extended family members. Don’t get mask fatigue, continue to wear it properly anytime you leave the house. Get some cute matching holiday themed mask patterns and keep the kids interested in them. Buy pine tree or gingerbread soaps and make hand washing a delight to your senses.

Allow time this Christmas and holiday season for a little more down time, less stress, and just be present with your core family unit. No need to make another large meal; change it up with Christmas brunch, enchiladas, or home made pizzas. I think I’m making brunch!

Ideas for kid-friendly activities:

1. Snowball fight: even if it’s not a White Christmas here in North Texas, crumble up paper or empty out the sock drawer!
2. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies and be ready for sugar overload.
3. Board games: bring out the old favorites and play several rounds of age-appropriate games.
4. Christmas movie marathon!
5. Get active outside. Even if it’s brisk, put on that winter-weather gear and walk the dog, take a family bike ride, or play flag football.
6. Go on a drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.
7. Enjoy a concert at home: many cultural centers now offer live-streamed concerts in the comfort of your home. Check into your favorite or even a new cultural event.
8. Reverse presents: have the kids clean out their toy boxes and drop off at a local donation center.
9. Make Christmas cards and drop off at nursing homes or assisted-living centers, to residents who likely will not see their own families for a big Christmas celebration.
10. Put on a fashion show! Pull out your old prom dress, dance costumes, or letterman’s jacket and let the kiddos take turns in mommy’s and daddy’s clothes. Tell them the story of the clothing item and why it’s so special.
11. Lights out! Sit in only the light from the decorated tree, candles, and fireplace, and read Christmas books together.

This year is one for the record books. Let’s do our part to give our children some happy memories this holiday season. It will put a smile on your face too.

Here are 12 day-ngers of Christmas:

1. Fireplace - Lighting a fire is one of my favorite winter time activities but it can be very dangerous for kids. Young children should always be supervised when around the fire and you should have them inspected regularly to prevent potential problems.
2. Candles – If you’re anything like my wife, the first thing you want to do when you get home is light a candle. The smells can really put you in the Christmas spirit but little hands love to explore flames and hot wax can be just as dangerous.
3. Small decorations – Small decorations (manger scenes or small tree ornaments) can be a significant choking hazard this time of year. Because they are often colorful and shiny, they can be spotted from across the house and crawling babies will find them.
4. Glass decorations – Little feet and crawling knees get glass in them frequently this time of year. A solid barrier around the tree and keeping fragile ornaments up high can help.
5. Stocking holders – Heavy stocking hangers can be a risk for kids as they reach up to pull down on the stocking and the heavy holder can cause skull fractures and bruises. Use lighter hooks, tape or otherwise secure the holders in some other way. It could even knock out your child’s two front teeth.
6. Tree allergies – Kids can be allergic to trees and this is the only time of year where we bring in a gigantic live allergen into our homes. If you are an allergic type family, think about an artificial tree; especially if your kid always end up miserable around Christmas-time.
7. Christmas tree water – Yes, kids will drink water anywhere they find it. The Christmas tree base is the perfect height for a crawling baby to lap it right up. Find kid safe tree nutrients or make sure that they are kept away from the base.
8. Holly/mistletoe berries – The old time fear of poinsettias may be true if your child ingests several flowers which can lead to abdominal cramping but the real risk is holly berries. Ingestion can cause severe stomach cramps and diarrhea from even just a berry or two.
9. Unstable tree base – Make sure that your tree is properly installed and the base is broad enough to prevent tip over if a child decides to do some indoor tree climbing practice or is rockin' around it.
10. Ladders – The process of decorating can be just as enjoyable as the decorations themselves. But ladder falls are common …your child doesn’t need to see you toppling over so be careful amateurs. Also be sure and put them away after each use so that little kids don’t decide that they can “help” later.
11. Electrical outlets – This time of year new things need to be plugged in and unplugged but don’t forget about your plug covers and electrical safety. Keep the cover nearby and replace it each time you unplug that tree or other decoration.
12. Hot drinks – Decorating and celebrating Christmas means more hot chocolate and apple cider but wandering little hands are eager to see what’s in that colorful mug…

This time of year can be amazing as a family…but stay alert.

When your baby is in a new house or environment be extra vigilant.

Take precautions as you deck the halls to prepare for safety at home.

Have a Merry Christmas!

But in the days after her birth, enthusiasm turned into fear as baby Ella began to show signs that something wasn’t right.

“She would get jittery. She would scream and she was constantly hungry,” said Carol.

Doctors at the Tucson hospital where Ella was born quickly realized that the little girl with a full head of hair had dangerously low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia. Ella couldn’t go home and that big Christmas celebration, along with everything else in her life, now seemed in doubt.

Ella’s caregivers tried several different treatments and when nothing worked, they began to suspect Ella had a rare disease called hyperinsulinism (HI). Hyperinsulinism occurs in about 1 in 50,000 babies. If uncontrolled, it can cause seizures and permanent brain damage.

“The doctors in Tucson did a great job diagnosing Ella’s hyperinsulinism, which was quite severe. They called us knowing about our work with the 18F DOPA PET scan and transferred her here,” said Paul Thornton, M.D., medical director of Cook Children’s Hyperinsulinism Center, one of the top such centers in the world.

Cook Children’s is one of only two institutions in the country to offer an HI program. It’s also one of the only places using the new investigational drug 18F DOPA. When combined with a PET-CT scan, the drug gives doctors a way to treat and even cure patients with few to no side effects.

The Vallecalle family received the call in late November that it was time for Ella to go to Texas. They would be traveling with Cook Children’s Teddy Bear Transport team.

“I was so nervous about leaving my son and also about what we were going to find out about Ella’s condition,” said Carol. “Then all of the sudden, I see these people in blue jumpsuits. There’s this beautiful Texan woman with her big, thick accent and she’s like ‘How y’all doing?’ and I just knew we were going to be fine.”

Carol rode with Ella on the plane to Texas and when they arrived at Cook Children’s, Dr. Thornton and his team got right to work. Using the 18F DOPA drug and the PET-CT scan, they were able to pinpoint the exact location in the pancreas that was causing Ella’s low blood sugar. They were also fairly certain that she had a form of HI known as focal disease, meaning there’s was a chance she could be cured.

“About half of the babies born with HI who are resistant to medical therapy have focal disease which we can treat and cure. The other half has diffuse disease which means they will have persistent hypoglycemia throughout their lifetime,” said Dr. Thornton.

One week after she arrived at Cook Children's, John Uffman, M.D. performed surgery on Ella. Using results from the PET-CT scan, he removed a small portion of the pancreas where a lesion was triggering her HI. She recovered quickly and days later underwent a 16-hour fast. Without any food for that extended period of time, Ella was able to maintain a healthy blood sugar level and her body was able to make ketones, molecules that should be produced during periods of low food intake.

Ella was officially cured.

“I never saw this day coming,” said Carol. “She’s going to have a normal life. She’s going to be able to travel and fall in love and do all of things that she wants to do. It’s a blessing.”

Dr. Thornton is also thrilled about the good news.

“It’s a really big deal for a baby like Ella to be cured because this disease is very serious. The new 18F DOPA drug and PET scan have really made a difference in how we are able to treat these HI patients. In the past, we might have cured a patient but we would have had to remove much more of the pancreas causing almost certain diabetes after surgery.”

Not only are doctors able to offer a cure without the threat of diabetes, they’re also able to send children home much faster than before. Within two weeks, Ella was able to leave Cook Children’s HI free. Before 18F DOPA and the PET scan, Dr. Thornton says most children would be in the hospital for 40 to 50 days.

“I’m just so excited to be home for Christmas,” says Carol. “When we left Arizona, we were fully expecting to be in Texas for a month or more. My son was worried that Santa wouldn’t find us.”

Santa will know exactly where to find the Vallecalle family. For the first time in her life, Ella went home Dec. 15. They will spend Christmas with their family.

More about Cook Children's Hyperinsulinism Center

One of only two such programs in the nation Cook Children's Hyperinsulinism Center uses a specialized team approach to treat this rare disease. Hyperinsulinism affects many areas of the body, so to truly treat the disease, each child is seen by top physicians, nurses, researchers and specialists in the field. These medical professionals have spent additional years of intense study and have dedicated their practice to focusing on hyperinsulinism so that your child has access to the medical care that treats all the symptoms. It is this level of treatment that has helped earn our program a distinguished international reputation for extraordinary care and achieving positive results.

"I would hear that song 'I'll be home for Christmas' in my head, and I'm like, 'I'm not going to be home,'" said mother, Carol Vallecalle.

It was a tough notion for Vallecalle to accept, but not as tough, she says, as what her 6-week-old daughter Ella has been through.

See the full story here.

The blog post to girlscouts.org seems all the more timely and important because of the many allegations against well-known celebrities and politicians.

“Holidays and family get-togethers are a time for yummy food, sweet traditions, funny stories, and lots and lots of love,” the blog read. “But they could, without you even realizing it, also be a time when your daughter gets the wrong idea about consent and physical affection.”

During a recent Facebook Live event, Cook Children’s posted on the #MeToo movement and child sexual abuse, Denise Coover, a trauma-informed specialist and family therapist, made a similar point. While the emphasis of the blog was on girls, Coover said it was important for parents to share the same message with their sons.

“When kids are little we’ve got to be careful to not override children’s instincts to not immediately go and hug people they don’t know,” Coover said. “Sometimes parents will say, “Oh go and give [her] a hug.” Well first of all they don’t know me and they don’t want to give me a hug. We should allow kids to make that decision on who they feel comfortable being close to. Sometimes we override that and say, ‘Oh they are being rude. Well, no they are not. They don’t know me.”

Joy Crabtree, clinic manager of Cook Children’s Psychology Clinic in Southlake, said that especially with the holidays coming up and your kids seeing people they may not normally be familiar or comfortable with, to prep your children in advance before you arrive to the family dinner or gathering.

“So, if they are being pressured for a hug or kiss, they can say, ‘I do high fives instead,’ for example. The more prepared kids feel in advance, the less stress they will feel and more confident, no matter the situation,” Crabtree said.

The blog urged parents to not insist their daughter go give hugs to an aunt or uncle if the child seems hesitant. The concern is that this establishes a precedent for when the child grows up and may “set the stage for her questioning whether she ‘owes’ another person any type of physical affections when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life.

The blog points out that these are scary times and that sadly adults do prey on children and “teaching your daughter about consent early on can help her understand her rights, knowing when lines are being crossed, and when to get help.”

The article recommends parents:

1. Give your child space to decide when and how to show affection.
2. Don’t force your child to give affection.
3. Teach her if she doesn’t want to give someone a hug to not be rude, but use words to express how she has missed someone, say “thank you with a smile.”
4. Give high fives, fist bumps or air kisses.

Click here to read the full blog.

“I didn’t remember it was Christmas until we left on the 26th of December," Bryan Gutierrez said. “Everything was just such a blur during our stay. I just know we were so thankful. The whole time we were at Cook Children’s, we had a feeling we were very much in angels’ hands.”

Unfortunately, their first Christmas didn’t go as Christina and Bryan hoped after their baby Quentin was born in November 2008. Within three weeks of his birth, Quentin contracted pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

Quentin experienced coughing so violent that at one point, he stopped breathing. He was rushed to a hospital in the family’s then hometown of Odessa, where the local hospital was unable to diagnose Quentin.

The coughing progressed and there was fear that Quentin's lungs would collapse. The family felt they needed more specialized care and requested a transfer to a children’s PICU.

The Gutierrez family was presented with options on where to take Quentin and decided to go with their little boy to Fort Worth.

“When we were presented with the options, I went online to research the different hospitals,” Christina said. “I found that Cook Children’s was highly rated and recommended. After looking into everything, I knew this was the place for our little boy.”

Bryan vividly recalls the Cook Children’s Teddy Bear Transport arriving in the morning to take Quentin. He said it didn’t take long to feel a sense of relief that he and his wife hadn’t felt since their son became ill.

“At the original facility, our son would turn blue. The coughing fits were getting to the point where his newborn lungs began to collapse. The doctors had failed to diagnose him or provide a treatment plan. According to the facility in Odessa, the pertussis lab test would take a couple of weeks. As soon as we walked into Cook Children's the doctors stated, "This looks like pertussis; we see this several times a year". During his first coughing fit, the nurses at Cook Children's knew exactly how to help him. We could tell we were now at a different level of care and professionalism,” Bryan said. “Within 30 minutes of our arrival, one nurse got Quentin stabilized and comforted me, all while getting us settled in. We were in the hospital for three weeks while Quentin was given the best care. The bedside manner, level of professionalism and attention to our mindset, as anxious parents, was outstanding. Our baby boy was given a clean bill of health three weeks later and we went home as extremely grateful parents.”

Quentin received care for his lungs, cleaning them out and monitoring them. The Gutierrez family would sit in on conversations between doctors and nurses during shift change. They said that transparency contributed to their confidence that they were in the right hands.

Eight years later, Quentin is a perfectly happy and healthy boy. His parents still remember their first Christmas and are thankful for who their son has become.

“When we think back to how sick he was as a baby, we are just so happy to have him in our lives,” Bryan said. “We know every parent thinks their child is special but we think he’s going to do great things someday. He’s truly a special little guy with a big heart and extremely smart. He does very well in school. He was doing an exercise at his elementary school in Flower Mound and he drew himself as president. He said the biggest thing he would do as president is be kind to everybody. I think that exemplifies what kind of child he is and proves when he was sick as a baby, it just wasn’t his time. We thank God, and Cook Children’s, for that.”

About Cook Children's PICU

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Cook Children's Medical Center cares for children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. On-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week are two physician specialists (board certified in pediatric intensive care or board certified pediatric cardiologist) and a nurse practitioner trained in pediatric intensive care. Specialty physicians, such as neurologists, pulmonologists, oncologists and cardiologists, are available for consultation or referrals. Click to learn more.

1. Make sure your house is safe while you are away. Alert the neighbors that you will be out of town. Stop the mail and newspaper from delivering or make sure a neighbor can pick it up for you. Now there’s even technology available to set a timer on the lights in your house. The timer lets you keep your lights on and turn them off the same as you would if you were actually at home, making any potential bad guy think you are there.
2. Don’t let everyone know your plans. Remember it’s not only old high school friends and co-workers following your every move. Crooks are definitely Facebook and Twitter savvy. Don’t announce to everyone that you are taking off soon or that you are trying to get packed tomorrow. Do things the old fashioned way and call the people who need to know you will be out.
3. Get your rest. A report released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety states that drivers who sleep only five or six hours in a 24-hour period are twice as likely to crash as drivers who get seven hours of sleep or more. Crash rates increase with every hour of lost sleep.
4. Make sure your child is secure in their car seat or booster before you travel. You can’t be too careful on the road, both in the U.S. and out of the country. Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of kids 14 years and under in the United States.
5. And secure on the plane too. Buy the extra ticket for your baby and make sure your child is properly protected in an approved safety seat. The No. 1 way children are injured in planes is due to turbulence. For safety, children need to be either restrained in their safety seat or in the lap belt in the plane seat.
6. Bring a current picture of your child with you on your trip. Have a very specific description of what your child is wearing in case your son or daughter gets lost. In this day and age of cameras on your phone, it’s easy to take a picture of your child that morning.
7. This is an uncomfortable one, but so important. Let your child know it’s OK to scream and fight if someone tries to grab them. However, just throwing a fit may not work. We’ve all seen kids screaming and crying as parents carry them out of the store. If the child is old enough they need to know to scream “this isn’t my Mommy or Daddy, help me” instead of just screaming like they are upset because they were told “no.”
8. Traveling with asthma. Be sure to pack your child’s quick-relief medicine and long-term control medicine. Keep them where you can reach them and not packed away. Pack your peak flow meter, health insurance cards and your asthma action plan. Consider purchasing a portable nebulizer. Call ahead to where you are traveling and discuss your child’s triggers. Bring your child’s pillow and blanket from home.
9. Childproof your grandparents’ home. Make sure they know about any nut allergies or any other allergy they should know about during your stay. Check all the rooms for any electrical cords, cleaning supplies and loose pills on the floor. Grandparents usually leave them out so they can remember to take them. Don’t let this happen. Put the pills away. Often times they aren’t child proofed and kids can easily mistake them for candy. Also remember to unpack and put away any medications that you bring with you.
10. Avoiding food allergies takes extra prep work. Research local hospitals and medical care wherever you are traveling. Also call ahead or go online to find out about area grocery stores, restaurants and any other place you may stop along the way. Make your family aware. Yes grandma makes the best pecan pie, but make sure everyone knows your child has allergies and one bite can mean horrible consequences. Pack your own food if necessary. Stay alert and be prepared with your child’s medications
11. Be aware of the new surroundings for your kiddo. If they have a family pool without a fence, talk to your children about them. Make them aware of the dangers of stairs and banisters, and go outside with them to point out dangers, such as rakes, power tools, spots where there may be snakes and other critters.
12. Be safe. Cook Children's Trauma team sees lots of ATV/4-wheeler injuries during the holiday break. If your child is on an ATV, please make sure it's built for a child. No child under 5 should be on one at all, let alone driving it. If your child is on a bike, hover board or skateboard, please be sure your kids have on the proper safety equipment (helmets please) and establish the rule of safety first. With family over, it can be easy to think someone else is watching your kids. Mom and dad, make sure you are the ones responsible for supervision.

Hope this list helps during this busy time of year. Happy holidays from Cook Children’s.

Then you walk inside, feel your arm itching and see the familiar red bumps on your arms. Mosquitoes! In December?

Why are we still seeing mosquitoes three weeks from Christmas?

For the answer, we asked Michael Merchant, Ph.D., a professor and Extension Urban Entomologist at Texas A&M University.

Merchant noticed mosquitoes over the weekend while out in the garden. But he wasn’t too surprised. After all, understanding pest management and insects is something he’s been an expert at for nearly 30 years.

“When the temperature drops below about 55 degrees, mosquitoes stop flying,” Merchant said. “We’ve already seen a major decline in mosquitoes, but we are still seeing a few of the hardier folks persisting.”

Mosquitoes don’t all die off during cold weather, they often just hide in protected spots to avoid freezing.

Mosquitoes are cold-blooded and like temperatures best in the 80s or warmer. Once the temperature drops below 55, they go away – or at least stop moving around as much. Some mosquitoes find holes or places inside to hide in until warmer weather. Others lay their eggs before the freezing weather and then die. The eggs then hatch in warmer winter.

But the risk isn’t over entirely. Merchant said it’s not unusual to see a few West Nile Cases in the Dallas/Fort Worth area into December, and this year’s warm weather has kept the insects around longer than usual.

The last bites of the year may even occur indoors. “A few mosquitoes always make their way indoors, often coming in from your doorways,” Merchant said. “Mosquitoes often hide in protected home entryways to get away from the cold.” From there it’s a short flight inside when the doors open and close.

Merchant suggests sweeping and vacuuming the upper part of your doors and around the doorway, as well as applying insecticides.

“For most of us, the threat of mosquitoes is almost over,” Merchant said. “Hopefully, by next week we will have a blast of cold weather and we won’t see them for a while.

For more information

To learn more on mosquito control around the home, Michael Merchant's website:

• Mosquito Safari Website. Go on a mosquito safari with this interactive AgriLife website. Mosquito Safari takes you on a walk through both urban and semi-rural landscapes to learn more about mosquito risks, biology and control options.
• Mosquito videos. Learn more about practical ways to make your home and landscape safer from mosquitoes, and see mosquito larvae breeding in a backyard setting.

This week presented an excellent opportunity for me to return the favor.

Our family chose to cancel our usual family Christmas. Not because the kids were bad and we’re not rewarding them. Not because we were frustrated with how commercialized it has become and are taking a stand. 

Actually, the rest of our extended family all got together and opened presents on the Sunday before Christmas as usual. We just didn’t go this year.

So, why didn’t we participate?

Flu.

Since I have been a practicing pediatrician, I have somehow avoided bringing the flu home. Whether it was luck or blessing or whatever you want to call it, we have been spared, until this year. My two boys have the flu.

So why didn’t we go?

Believe me, skipping the excitement and fun of watching our kids with their cousins is heartbreaking. This is the first year that all of our kids seem to know something is different about this time of year and Christmas at my grandmothers is always one of the highlights.

But, taking a risk with the rest of our family is not worth it and it should not be for you either. If your child is sick, find some other way to celebrate that doesn’t put others at risk. 

Think about those people who are most at risk from complications of the flu: children under 5 years (especially under 2, all the new babies out there), adults over 65 years (grandma and grandpa), pregnant women (your cousin’s first baby) and people with chronic medical conditions. These are just the types of people who it’s hard to stay away from at Christmastime.

We will make the best of today and pray that we are all better come Christmas Day. You should do the same.

About the author

Justin Smith, M.D., is a Cook Children's pediatrician in Lewisville . View more from The Doc Smitty at his Facebook page. He attended University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School and did his pediatric training at Baylor College of Medicine. He joins Cook Children's after practicing in his hometown of Abilene for four years. He has a particular interest in development, behavior and care for children struggling with obesity. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with his 3 young children, exercising, reading and writing about parenting and pediatric health issues.

We have all read books on taking care of ourselves but if you are like me you think that the person who wrote these have no idea what your life is like. Well, I have read some of the latest and greatest coping mechanisms on how to get through this busy season and I can tell you some are pretty farfetched. But one of the most important things I read asked me to look at the holidays through the eyes of a child. Imagine when you were young and the excitement that you felt during this time of year. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on how to accomplish this.

1. Be realistic. Not everything has to be perfect. The memories we want our children to remember are the fun times, not that everything had to be perfect because relatives/friends were coming over. I remember when my parents were coming to visit I cleaned my house from top to bottom. I spent several days making sure everything was spotless and stressed out if things got out of place before they arrived. To tell you the truth my house was never really dirty…it was my issue not theirs. Now that I am older and wiser I would have done things differently.

2. Remember, things don’t have to be the same every year. If in the past few years you spent three days baking because this is “what your mother did,” or because everyone likes your cookies, it’s time to make a change. Think about what cookies people like the most and focus on only one of two different kinds. This is easier than making 10 different batches, and spending days in the kitchen. I was never a baker but I did try every year to bake sugar cookies. This was a fun time for me and my boys. I remember rolling out the dough and them cutting out shapes to put on the cookie sheet. I got smart later and bought store bought dough and icing. We still had as much fun making our cookies as we did making them by scratch.

3. Then there’s holiday shopping. If the thought of fighting traffic and standing in long lines stress you out, remember that the longer you put this off the worse the situation is going to get in the stores. Try to shop early next year, if you can, and maybe go late at night or early in the morning. Most stores have extended hours, but please be careful if you are going out by yourself. Also for next year, some stores now have layaway so even if you can’t afford to purchase all the gifts, you can put them on layaway and get them out closer to Christmas Day. I would put the kids to bed; kiss my husband good bye and head to the store with my good friend. We had so much fun out late at night by ourselves and didn’t have to fight the weekend shopping rush.

4. Please enjoy the season. When you are working at home, play a holiday CD and sing along with it. I remember as a young child my mom playing “I saw mama kissing Santa Clause” and her singing along with it. To this day if I hear this song those childhood memories come flooding back.

5. Decorating our homes can also cause us added stress. Think about what is important to the family, what has always been the family tradition and pick one day and get it done. I always tried to make this a fun time for my family when my boys were young and I hope they have good memories of us putting up the tree. Our tree was never perfect, but it was decorated with love each year.

6. One of the most important things to remember is to take some time for you. We are generally so rushed during the month of December we tend to forget about ourselves and spend all our time and energy focusing on everyone else. One of my favorite things to do during this time of year is to read a Christmas romance novel. These generally are less than 100 pages long and are just “feel good” books. I love to grab a blanket, my book, and a hot cup of coco and lose myself for a few hours. I love a good Christmas romance novel. Just makes me feel good.

7. Now, all that grocery shopping. I am not one who generally makes a list, but this time a year I try to do this. I hate to forget something and have to go back. This takes some planning and thinking ahead. Again, most stores have extended hours and this may be a good time to hit the grocery stores. Preparing for our holiday dinners has always been a stressful time for me. I don’t like to grocery shop, and I get disturbed at the prices of some items. I am a very frugal person so I don’t mind buying the store brand. Most of the times these products work well and nine times out of 10 no one know’s the difference.

8. Now what about holiday cards? This is one area that I am not very good at. I love to get cards from family and friends, but generally find myself writing my cards and not mailing them, or putting it off to the last minute and then it’s too late to get them in the mail. My sisters all write Christmas letters. I generally can’t remember what I did yesterday let alone for the past year. One suggestion that I read is to purchase the cards as soon as they show up in the stores…for me this would be when I need to purchase stamps too. Start by attaching your return address sticker to the cards, and place stamps on them. Now when you have a few minutes address and sign a few cards at a time. You might not want to seal the cards until later. This way you can go back and jot a note if you want to. If you run out of time you just seal the cards and get them in the mail.

9. Now for the hard stuff. Don’t let the holidays become an excuse for you to overeat. I know that when I overdo it I tend to be unhappy with myself, and find that this habit only adds to my stress. Try to remember to get plenty of exercise and drink plenty of water. If you know you are going to a holiday party, try to eat a healthy snack before you arrive, this way you won’t overeat after you get to the party.

10. My final suggestion is to just have fun. Remember our kids are only young once and the memories we are making today will stay with them always. Please take time and enjoy your family and the holiday activities. Don’t let the outside demands take away your holiday spirit. Readjusting our thinking and taking time for ourselves and families can help you have a less stressful holiday season.

About the author

Allyn Cary is the manager of Social Work. The social worker’s focus is on the family. They work with doctors, nurses and other hospital staff to make sure the patient's and family’s needs and concerns are addressed so that the child’s ongoing health care needs are met. Social Workers have specialized training to assist families in times of physical, emotional, and financial stress. They are well informed about available resources in the community so they can support families in need.

There are so many different toys available these days, and it’s difficult to choose toys that your children will enjoy, but are also beneficial to their learning and development. Below are a few ideas of toys that will encourage the appropriate developmental skills by age group:

• Birth to 6 months: Young babies will benefit from rattles and other toys that are easy to grasp with tiny hands. Unbreakable mirrors will help your baby to visually focus and promote social and emotional development. Remember that all toys will go into their mouth at this age, so make sure all toys are safe. Tummy time is essential for developing gross motor skills and neck strength, and there are many different tummy time floor mats available.
• 7-12 months: Older babies are very interested in exploring their environment and love interactive toys. Cause and effect toys, or toys that make a response when touched, are great for learning at this age. Toys that move, such as push toys, pull toys and large balls will help your child learn to crawl and walk. Small drool-proof books with pictures will encourage bonding time with your children and develop language as you read to them.
• Toddlers (1-3 years): Toddlers are quickly learning language, fine and gross motor skills. Dolls, puppets and dress up clothes are great for pretend play and language development. Blocks, cars and puzzles will work on fine motor skills and develop hand strength. Ride on toys will develop coordination, leg strength and trunk strength. Balls for kicking, throwing and catching can advance hand-eye coordination.
• Preschoolers (4-5 years): Bicycles, tricycles and balls of all sizes are great for kids in the preschool age. It’s important to keep kids active so that they are learning coordination and balance skills. Make sure you include a helmet for safety! Video games, movies and computer/tablet games may be on your child’s wish list, but remember to limit screen time to 30-60 minutes per day. Board games are a good way to encourage play with family members as well as friends. They are also great for taking turns, learning rules and developing fine motor skills as you manipulate small pieces or dice.

About the author

Amanda Whitmire PT, DPT, is a physical therapist at Cook Children's. Physical therapy at Cook Children's focuses on large motor and functional skils to enhance development, restore function and prevent disability from pediatric conditions, illness or injury. Cook Children's has Rehabilition Services in locations in Fort Worth, Hurst and most recently in Mansfield.