After 100 surgeries as a kid, Caleb Wolf is now a nurse!

 "Diagnosed at just two years old with Chiari malformations and pseudotumor cerebri, conditions that caused serious pain, seizures, cognitive issues, and vision problems, Wolf would go on to have more than 100 surgeries and treatments at Children’s Mercy Kansas City hospital in Missouri." 

"Wolf faced enormous challenges throughout his long-term stays as a pediatric patient, but fought, not just for himself, but for other patients like him who were forced to spend their holidays in the hospital. He founded a non-profit that gifted kids with holiday and other special gifts during their hospital stays, and then later, as an adult, he found the ultimate way to give back: He became a nurse himself and now works as a staff RN at the same hospital where he practically grew up." 

"At only the age of 12, Wolf and his friend Reagan started a group called Henson's Heroes, which supplies toys, gifts, holiday meals, and other items of enjoyment, comfort, and need to patients and their families. What started with a competition between friends to see who could get the most toys donated (spoiler: they filled two entire school buses!) quickly became a community tradition." 

"I was like, 'Okay, I get it now,'" Wolf says. "I kind of understand what's going on here. And that gave me the boost to kind of see, kind of the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Today, Henson's Heroes lives on through the hospital's annual Snowflake Shoppe, which allows parents and caregivers of inpatient and dialysis families to "shop" for gifts—donated by the community— without ever needing to leave the hospital. Community members or individuals can still donate online to continue Wolf's efforts with monetary donations that can be directed to the Snowflake Shoppe." 

Read more about Caleb at: https://nurse.org/news/nurse-caleb-wolf-childrens-hospital/

Cheers!

Donna

Erin Murphy, RN survived a heart attack and is raising awareness about SCAD

 

"Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Erin Murphy moved to Birmingham in 2017 to finish her bachelor’s degree at UAB.

After four years as an inpatient nurse at UAB, Erin was offered a job as an inpatient charge nurse on the Adult Psychiatric Unit at Shelby Baptist Hospital in Alabaster.

Last June, Erin was making her rounds on the unit when she started getting shooting pains down her left arm and shortness of breath.

She told her manager, who then called rapid response.

Erin was taken to the Emergency Department, and a few hours later, doctors said that her troponin was elevated.

Troponin is an enzyme in the heart that plays a vital role in muscle contraction, so elevated troponin levels indicate damage to the heart muscle.

Cardiologists discovered that Erin had a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), which is a condition where a tear occurs in the wall of the coronary artery, causing blood to accumulate between the layers of the artery wall, leading to a heart attack.

Through this scary and uncertain time, Erin praised her doctors at Shelby Baptist for making her feel at ease.

“Dr. Bender took amazing care of me, and her care did not end when I was discharged from the ICU. She helped me get a SCAD specialist, wrote me referrals and she’s just been incredible.”

Now, nearly one year later, Erin is raising awareness for SCAD and heart health.

Did you know that SCAD is the number one cause of heart attack in women under 50?"

Read more about Erin’s advice about protecting your heart.

https://bhamnow.com/2025/03/20/local-nurse-survived-heart-attack-tells-her-story/

Cheers!

Donna