Meet Mallory Wooten

El Dorado, Arkansas

When Mallory Wooten was 6 months old, she began running a high fever. Her parents took her to visit her pediatrician, who thought Mallory had an obstruction in her large intestine.

The local hospital sent Mallory to Arkansas Children's Hospital, where doctors began analyzing her x-rays. The physicians found that Mallory did not have an obstruction in her intestines – she had a condition called cystic fibrosis (CF) and was having trouble digesting food.

“Our first thought when we heard Mallory’s diagnosis, we were scared and found comfort in the staff at Children’s,” says Mallory’s father, Jimmy. “This sense of caring helped our entire family cope with the news.”

With help from the staff at ACH, Mallory’s parents began learning all they could about CF. Her treatment included taking a regimen of medications daily, as well as separate medicines every time she ate. Mallory also began respiratory therapy twice a day to help keep her lungs clear.

Over the years, Mallory has endured only two sinus surgeries and five hospitalizations at ACH – the longest being seven days. Jimmy credits her adherence to her treatment as the reason for so few surgeries and hospital stays.

“Mallory was diagnosed with CF very early, so she has never known a day when she doesn’t have to do her treatment or take her medications,” Jimmy says. “She has always been really great about following her treatment plan, and I think that has kept her so healthy over the years.”

Currently, Mallory wears a vibrating therapy vest for 30 minutes twice a day to clear her lungs and airways. She also visits ACH every three months for check-ups with the pulmonary team.

As someone who has visited the hospital for more than 17 years, Mallory’s mother, Karen, says one thing that has remained the same over the years is the staff’s dedication and caring spirit.

“The staff at Children’s is wonderful,” she says. “They make you feel like family. They truly touch the lives that they care for, and that means a lot to our family.”

Mallory is very active in her school and church. At her high school, she is the vice president of her class and a member of several clubs and honor societies. At her church, she works as a sound technician and is very active with the Oxygen Youth ministries program.