<![CDATA[Checkup Newsroom]]> https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/ en-us Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:18:22 +0200 Wed, 06 Apr 2016 18:26:21 +0200 <![CDATA[Checkup Newsroom]]> https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1065.png https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/ 144 Bionic Bride to Meet Heart Donor's Family https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/bionic-bride-to-meet-heart-donors-family/ https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/bionic-bride-to-meet-heart-donors-family/121226Ally Babineaux among 19 recipients to meet donors' loved ones at Cook Children'sAlly Babineaux knows what it’s like to need a miracle. Dubbed the ‘Bionic Bride,’ she was in bad shape when the groundbreaking heart pump that was meant to keep her alive no longer worked. Yet somehow, despite being in a coma and possibly hours away from death, her condition improved just as the heart she so desperately needed became available.

Flash forward five years to today, Babineaux is once again on the verge of the unknown. For the first time, she will meet the family of the donor who gave their heart so she could live.

“It’s hard because one side is filled with so much loss, and I had so much gain,” she said.

Babineaux’s story may sound familiar. She made headlines in 2009 when doctors implanted a mechanical device in her chest to keep her heart from failing, a revolutionary treatment for her cardiomyopathy. One year later, she was making appearances on the Today Show and in People magazine, all while planning her wedding with her college sweetheart.

Doctors were hopeful that the pump would allow her heart to heal itself. By February 2011, however, Babineaux was in dire need of a transplant. She slipped into a coma and her family began praying for a miracle. For weeks it was touch and go. Then, almost magically, she improved just enough for a heart transplant.

“The one day my body was well enough to survive surgery is the day I received my heart,” said Babineaux.

She is nervous about meeting her donor’s family. Before today’s event, organized by LifeGift and Cook Children’s, Babineaux wrote the family a 17-page letter. In it, she told them how much their loved one’s heart meant to her. She also told them how she spoke to the heart, even sang to it, and how the heart would respond.

“I remember the first time I was able to go fishing again, I told my heart ‘I don’t know if you’ve ever been fishing before, but we are going today,” she said. “Every time I would talk to my heart it would start beating faster and I would get butterflies in my chest.”

Babineaux knows little bit about her heart donor. She was a 14-year-old girl from Fort Worth, Texas.

“After I wrote the letter, I was told that my donor’s family couldn’t get over the part about the butterflies. They said she was obsessed with butterflies.”

Babineaux is one of 19 organ recipients who will meet their donor’s families at Cook Children’s today. The event is one of the largest ever organized in the U.S.

]]> Fri, 01 Apr 2016 15:47:47 -0500 https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1065/500_bionicbride3.jpg?10000 https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1065/bionicbride3.jpg?10000 Be the mom, not another BFF https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/be-the-mom-not-another-bff/ https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/be-the-mom-not-another-bff/88432Why moms shouldn't worry about being 'un-cool' with their childAs your daughter travels through her teen years, it can sometimes be tempting to act as her friend rather than her mother.

After all, who doesn’t remember being judged by the cool kid in school. And now it’s your daughter doing the judging?

But to help ensure your daughter’s positive transition into womanhood, it’s better to suppress your fear of being “un-cool” in your teen’s eyes and work toward gaining her respect instead.

“Sometimes, moms feel like that stepping into a peer-like role will enable them to find out more about their daughters’ lives,” said Lena Zettler, MA, LPA, director of psychology at Cook Children’s. “Frequently, however, that approach backfires, because the information they learn isn’t always innocent or pleasant. When you suddenly step out of that friend role and become the mother again, it’s very confusing to a teen.”

Finding a balance

In general, mothers are the managers of their children’s emotional and social lives. Because of this, the line between friendships and mother-daughter relationships can get blurry. A good rule of thumb to remember – most teens want to have friends their own age and their parent should play a supportive role.

It’s important to enforce limits and set expectations. If your relationship with your daughter has teetered into “friend” territory, it’s never too late to take back control.

  • Look to female friends and relatives who’ve done a good job raising their daughters for advice, and allow them to mentor you.
  • Have an honest conversation with your daughter to let her know you’re not comfortable being her “friend” anymore and why.
  • Ask what she needs—not wants—from you as a mother.

You may not be your daughter’s BFF, but the relationship could be more rewarding for it.

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