BREAKING THROUGH with Madeline Bell Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that often causes debilitating pain and life-threatening complications. Many patients with the disease make dozens of ER visits a year, and must receive regular blood transfusions. And though recent breakthroughs in gene therapy are giving patients with sickle cell new hope – and new options – accessing these therapies can be challenging. In this episode of Breaking Through, cell and gene therapy expert Dr. Stephan Grupp and pediatric hematologist Dr. Alexis Thompson join Madeline to talk about how gene therapy for sickle cell disease can transform patients’ lives. They also discuss what teams at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) are doing to ensure that these innovative therapies reach the children who need them most. 

The team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) believes that mental health is just as important as physical health – and they’re working together to find solutions to the pediatric mental health crisis. In this episode of Breaking Through, Dr. Catharyn Turner, CHOP’s Medical Director of Acute Inpatient Psychiatry, joins Madeline to discuss the innovative work CHOP is leading to improve access to pediatric mental health care, CHOP's new mental health facilities in West Philadelphia, and what’s behind the rise in mental health conditions in children and teens.

From the time Elijah was a baby, he had many painful symptoms – and no one could determine what was wrong. But when Elijah was a toddler, his family finally found answers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In this episode of The Breakthrough Chronicles, 12-year-old Elijah and his parents talk to Madeline about how teams at CHOP transformed his health – and his life.

Tenlee was born with a rare heart condition and had a heart transplant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia when she was just 5 months old. And though she’s doing well today, her journey has been very challenging. In this episode of The Breakthrough Chronicles, Tenlee’s parents, Jami and Nick, speak with Madeline about the challenges Tenlee has overcome – and how their family’s experience at CHOP changed their lives.

While growing up in West Philadelphia, Kareem saw firsthand the devastating impact trauma and violence can have on children. In this episode of The Breakthrough Chronicles, he and Madeline discuss the sport that changed his life – and the role that hospitals like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have to play in helping children cope with trauma.

When Hannah was a baby, she was diagnosed with a rare eye disease that usually leaves patients completely blind. But Hannah’s story turned out differently thanks to an incredible gene therapy developed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine. In this episode of The Breakthrough Chronicles, 11-year-old Hannah and her mom, Amy, share their family’s inspiring story with Madeline – and talk about how this breakthrough treatment changed Hannah’s life.