This past year, Melanie came to Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach with pneumonia. Her family was surprised to find out the pneumonia was so severe that it had spread toxins throughout her body which caused her to go into septic shock. She had to be put on a respirator to breathe. Melanie's kidneys also stopped working so she had to be put on dialysis, a form of renal therapy, to help remove the excess fluid and toxins. She underwent more than 10 blood transfusions, because her body was not producing enough blood on its own.
Despite her long and hard journey, her body responded well to the renal therapy treatment. She is now able to breathe on her own again without support and no longer needs dialysis or blood transfusions.
“Everyday, Melanie would take one step closer towards improvement,” stated Kourosh Parsapour, M.D., pediatric intensivist. “Very often patients in Melanie’s situation do not survive, and if they do, they are left with permanent kidney injury; but Melanie improved with little to no deficits in her kidney function. She is a testament to the incredible renal program offered in the Miller Children’s critical care unit.”
Melanie’s mother, Janette, was very pleased with the treatment she received at Miller Children’s. She was pleasantly surprised by the way the pediatric intensive care unit staff, along with pediatric nephrologists and nurses took complete care of Melanie. “I felt comfortable knowing that if I stepped away she would be taken care of,” stated Jeanette. “She always had nurses by her side, day and night.”
Today Melanie is healthier than ever thanks to the specialized pediatric care she received at Miller Children’s. She enjoys coloring, playing Barbies and watching her favorite movie, “Stewart Little.” Since her stay at Miller Children’s, Melanie has decided she wants to grow up to become a doctor—just like the ones who saved her life.
Renal Center
The Pediatric Renal Center at Miller Children’s Hospital provides a multi-disciplinary and multi-specialty approach for consultation, diagnostic testing and medical management of children with congenital and acquired kidney disease. The Nephrology Center has an expert staff that treats children ages birth through 21 years of age. Each patient receives a comprehensive care plan that manages a child’s symptoms from diagnosis to treatment by a specialized care team, often working closely with other board-certified pediatric sub-specialists.
Pediatric nephrologists at Miller Children’s complete clinical evaluations and order renal procedures, such as renal biopsies and renal ultrasounds. Some common tests preformed include x-rays, blood tests and other diagnostic procedures to help diagnose and treat various kidney conditions, such as hypertension, end stage renal, kidney failure and polycystic kidney disease (PKD). The Renal Center provides renal dialysis and offers a kidney transplant preparation program. The nephrologist also diagnoses and manages acute and chronic disorders of the genitourinary system, including urinary tract infections.
Designated CCS Center
The Renal Center is an approved CCS Special Care Center for Renal Dialysis. The Renal Center provides a wide range of medical services for children with chronic renal failure and complex renal diseases.
Miller Children’s Stands Apart
- Miller Children’s Hospital is one of the few hospitals in the area to provide renal replacement therapy as young as 2 years old.
- Continuous renal therapy care is provided to critically ill newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
- Kidney disease affects many systems in the body, so it’s important that patients are treated at Miller Children’s, where they have access to all of Miller Children’s pediatric sub-specialists, who cover more than 30 specialties.
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