There has been a lot of talk lately about neighborhood greenways – slow-speed, low-traffic residential streets that are a block or two off an arterial for safe bicycling and walking. […]
Month: February 2012
Ballard man wants suborbital adventure
Space Race 2012 is on! The Space Needle and Space Adventures, the only company that has provided human space missions to the global marketplace, is looking to send one lucky […]
Compass Housing Alliance breaks ground on Nyer Urness House
The rain held off for the official groundbreaking of the Nyer Urness House. The Nyer Urness house is named after Reverand Nyer Urness, the Compass Housing chaplain from 1989-2006. “He […]
Whittier Elementary principal retiring
Whittier Elementary will have a new principal next school year. This letter was sent to Whittier families over the weekend. Dear Whittier Community, It is with a sense of deep […]
Ballard High School fundraiser going green
By John Verduin, BHS PTSA President Ballard High School (BHS) Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) is having their annual fundraiser The BASH and we want to extend an invitation to […]
Climate researcher and polar explorer to speak tonight
Two renowned speakers will be in Ballard tonight to discuss climate research. The visiting lecture series is sponsored by the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods […]
Beavers compete at state
By: Bucky Beaver Ballard High School sent 13 student-athletes to WIAA State competitions this past weekend. Wrestling Senior Miles Smalls competed in the 182 pound weight class on Friday. Miles […]
Presidents Day: Garbage, parking and schools
It’s Presidents Day which means schools, some liquor stores (the Ballard store as well as these others .pdf are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.), post offices and government offices […]
Ima Norwegian
Funny guys Tim Hunter and Frank Shiers bring a little Scandihoovian humor to MyBallard in a weekly cartoon called Ima Norwegian. Ima Norwegian is a life-time Ballard resident who lives […]
Double rainbow after a drizzly day
Rex sent us this photo of a double rainbow seen from above Golden Gardens Saturday at 5:20 p.m. “Nice finish to a drizzly day!” he writes.
Ballard mom gives support to parents of kids with rare condition
By Vanessa Radatus
On January 10, 2009, Ballard resident Shelby Davidson delivered her son Anthony by an emergency C-Section. After minor complications, she finally held him for the first time, relieved to see that he was perfect.
Four months later, however, she realized something was wrong. A sharp ridge was developing in the middle of her son’s head.
Shelby, 33, said she immediately took Anthony to see his pediatrician, who referred her to Seattle Children’s Hospital’s craniofacial clinic. Here she met Dr. Charlotte W. Lewis, who diagnosed Anthony with Sagittal Craniosynostosis. Shelby and her family had never heard of this rare condition before and learned the baby would need a five- to eight-hour surgery.
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to hear that your baby is going to need major surgery,” Shelby said. “The worst part is that I had no idea what to expect and the doctors could only explain so much.”
Craniosynostosis is a birth defect that affects 1 in every 2,000 births, where the sutures that connect individual skull bones on an infant’s head close prematurely. If not corrected, it stunts normal brain and skull growth. As the skull bones fuse early, pressure on the brain causes skull and facial bones to change from their normal, symmetrical appearance.
Symptoms vary from case to case but often an infant will have an unusually shaped head, an absence of the “soft spot” or a raised ridge along the affected sutures months after they are born. In rare cases, the deformity causes pressure to build up on the baby’s brain, which can cause brain damage, vision and hearing loss and make the baby develop more slowly than other children, Shelby said. Even more, hundreds of Craniosynostotis cases go misdiagnosed each year because of lack of awareness.
Ballard students take the Global Reading Challenge
Fourth and fifth graders from three Ballard elementary schools are taking part in the 2012 Global Reading Challenge – a “Battle of the Books” quiz bowl hosted by Seattle Public […]
Recent Comments