Sledding is an exciting winter activity for kids and parents alike. As you head out with your sled to enjoy the snow, take a helmet with you. Wearing a helmet could protect you from a nasty bump all the way up to a paralyzing traumatic brain injury.

New Gillette Children’s adult nurse practitioner, Pang Vang, says she’s driven to help all patients achieve a better quality of life. She's part of Gillette's physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) team and her philosophy of care centers on building relationships.

Gillette Children's pediatric neurologist, Charbel El Kosseifi, MD, says a photo of a young girl inspired him and changed his life. "I even dreamed of that photo," El Kosseifi shares. This new member of the neurology team is helping children care for their muscles, nerves and bones.

April is Occupational Therapy (OT) month and Gillette is highlighting the amazing work our OT team does every day to help our patients increase their independence with daily activities. Gillette is one of the only pediatric health care centers to have an ArmeoSpring machine. Our occupational therapists use this robotic exoskeleton to assist patients who are building strength as the result of trauma, cerebral palsy, neuromuscular conditions or stroke.

Caleb Binkert wrapped up a preholiday evening shift as a cashier at a Target in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota on November 6, 2020. He put on his bike helmet, his reflective clothing and started biking home around 9:30pm. Caleb, 17, does not remember anything from that day as he rode through a crosswalk to continue his journey home. In an instant his life changed.

Erin Ingvalson, speech therapist and speech clinical educator at Gillette Children's tells us about her work on the brain injury Rehabilitation team, collaborating with other rehab experts, and one of her fondest memories from her long career.

January is National Winter Sports Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Awareness Month. Prevention and precaution are the keys to staying safe and minimizing injuries. If your child does become injured the team at Gillette Children's has a higher level of training to deal with pediatric TBIs.

Going sledding is fun, but it can also be dangerous. Wearing a helmet makes it safer.

Mpls. St. Paul Magazine recently released its “Top Doctors list,” which includes the names of 24 physicians from Gillette Children's. The magazine determines award recipients based on a survey sent to physicians each year, asking them to nominate one or more doctors (excluding themselves) whom they would visit if they or a loved one needed medical care.

As the weather turns warmer and sunnier, families are eager to get outside for fresh air and exercise. While the escape from the four walls of home is a welcome relief, it’s important to make sure we’re all safe during our outdoor activities. Gillette is here to help if a child is injured.

After a car accident at age 16, Josie spent three months in a coma. He woke up at Gillette Children's, where months of rehabilitation renewed his determination to live life to its fullest.

Rehabilitation therapy helps patients learn how to maximize their abilities and become familiar with new ways of moving. Locomotor training, a form of walking therapy that involves body weight support, can help eligible patients increase function in their lower extremities and improve their mobility.

"If you set expectations, you are trying to control the wind. If you operate on hopes, you are continually adjusting the sails . Gillette helps us adjust the sails and add to the list of things that Luke CAN do.” - Sarah, Luke's mom. See what Luke's life is like, six years after a near-tragic window fall and traumatic brain injury.

In the United States, approximately one in twenty-five children is considered “medically complex.” What this means is that these are individuals who have multiple chronic and severe health conditions.

Twenty years after a traumatic brain injury, the Twin Cities Marathon will welcome Andrew Leitner to the starting line. With his running bib emblazoned, "Gillette 1" he pays homage to hospital that he volunteers for...and the one that saved his life.

Tall, red-haired and boisterous, it’s not a surprise to learn that Connor plays on the football team back in North Dakota, or that he’s pretty popular.

"If there is anything that I want people to understand, it’s that parents who have children who have disabilities want what any parent wants for their child."