CHEO stories

Liver disease is quietly taking hold in Canadian children

By: Dr. Mohit Kehar, hepatologist, CHEO

As families ready for back to school, I want to take a moment to talk about a disease affecting thousands of Canadian children, which is hiding in plain sight.

For years, "fatty liver disease" has been burdened by misconceptions that blame individuals for their illness and overlook the complex metabolic factors at play. To combat that stigma, experts recently adopted a new name — metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. 

The label may...

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NAC Orchestra plays Super strings for kids at CHEO

It was game on at CHEO this week, as musicians from the National Arts Centre (NAC) delivered a lively afternoon concert that powered up smiles for patients, families, and staff.

The performance marked the third in a two-year partnership between CHEO and the National Arts Centre (NAC) to share performing arts and its many benefits with patients and staff throughout 2026.

Featuring iconic pieces from the Super Mario Bros. theme to Tchaikovsky, the concert invited young listeners into a world of adventure where...

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Child gives rare gift to CHEO through Make-A-Wish Foundation

A nine-year-old from eastern Ontario has turned a once-in-a-lifetime gift into a powerful act of generosity, choosing to give back to the hospital that once cared for them.

Instead of requesting a “to go” gift such as atrip or experience through Make-A-Wish Canada, the child — a former CHEO cancer patient — made what the organization calls its rarest type of request: a “gift” wish. 

The child and their family have opted to donate a large collection of items including games, puzzles, and electronics, like

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CHEO’s Zedd shares therapeutic clowning expertise with the world

CHEO’s therapeutic clown, Zedd, spends each day the lifting the spirits of patients and families, focused on their emotional well-being and the development of children and youth, and his work has made him a leading voice of therapeutic clowning around the world.

Globally, there are hundreds of therapeutic clown programs but, in Canada, only about 125 certified therapeutic clowns exist. There is a small fraction of those within a hospital setting, and that makes Zedd’s regular presence at CHEO unique.

Zedd, or...

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A thriving Nursing Research Community of Practice at CHEO

Nurse-led research affirms safe feeding methods for mothers who took SSRIs during pregnancy

New findings affirm mothers who took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy may safely choose their preferred feeding method without impacting likelihood of their newborns experiencing withdrawal from the medication. 

While a small percentage of newborns experience withdrawal from SSRIs following birth, symptoms like jitteriness, fussiness, crying, feeding problems and sleep issues...

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