A truly great song can break and warm your heart simultaneously. Despite her age—or perhaps enhanced by it—7-year-old cancer patient Arianna has created just that while in the hospital. The opportunity wasn’t a musical miracle: It was Maryville University’s Kids Rock Cancer.

You relax as the chair warms and massages your back. Soothing colors surround you, and calming music fills your ears. No one can interrupt this 30 minutes just for you. No phone calls, no demands, no guilt about just being still and doing nothing—with your mouth wide open.

Pearly whites and shiny silver! Precious metals may look très chic as bracelets and necklaces, but can they also leave you with a perfect smile? These youngsters sure hope so! Here, they show off their finest incisor accessories and prove there is such a thing as being en vogue in braces.

Get close. Closer. Eww, not that close.

 If you think of the body as a structure, the feet are the foundation on which everything else rests. Pounds of force are placed upon the feet with every step we take. The delicate bones, tendons and tissues usually bear this load cheerfully enough, but the condition of your feet can provide clues to overall health and affect the condition of the rest of the musculoskeletal system.

One in 10 people are likely to develop addiction to drugs and alcohol and need to seek treatment, according to local experts. But many of those who seek help may not know which way to turn in order to overcome their dependency.

Spring is finally here! And when the weather gets warm, people run outside. Then they fall down. Or twist their ankle. Or throw the ball just a little too hard for their own good.

Creating good by giving back is a gift to yourself, local financial advisers say. But before making a major donation to support your favorite cause, heed the following pieces of advice to avoid scams, maximize that gift and leave a lasting legacy of philanthropy. 

Hearing loss is one of the most common health complaints of older adults. But today’s technologies are making hearing loss easier to live with, and research is holding promise for new treatments in the future.

If you’ve ever been through it, you have true sympathy for others. Trying to soothe a colicky baby is one of the greatest initial trials of parenthood. One day your baby starts to cry—and he keeps on crying. For weeks. And then...it stops as mysteriously as it began.

Following graduation from college, I spent four years in medical school, then three years in a pediatric residency. This was long before medical student and resident work hours were restricted, so I spent up to 100 hours each week for many years learning medicine – specifically pediatric medicine. I’ve spent the rest of my life practicing to get it right. After all the time, effort and expense, what have I spent most of my professional time doing? Talking about poop: too much, not enough, too hard, too loose—you name it, some mom, dad or grandma has worried about it, and I’ve discussed it.

Communication is one of the very first skills we learn in order to navigate the world. As infants, we are quick to begin communicating our needs and respond to those around us. However, babies who are born with hearing disorders and children who lose their sense of hearing face a very different communication landscape—one that now involves technology and strategies to help them to communicate with the wider world.

A shoulder and elbow surgeon, as well as an accomplished violinist, Dr. Aaron Chamberlain understands the importance of staying healthy in order to do what you love.

MAY

MISSION: St. Louis County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) works to eliminate racial discrimination and ensure political, educational, social and economic equal rights for everyone. The nonprofit stands for the belief that people of all races, nationalities and faiths are created equal. 

Blood clots pose a medical dichotomy: They save lives when they form on cuts or wounds, protecting underlying tissue and enabling healing; yet they threaten lives when they form in blood vessels, blocking necessary blood flow to vital organs. So while we rely on our blood to clot in circumstances of traumatic injury, we want to guard against the propensity for internal arterial or venous blood clots.

There are many approaches to a younger-looking face, from cosmetics to plastic surgery. But one of the most important components of a youthful appearance is a healthy smile. Maintaining the teeth and gums is critical to your overall beauty regimen.

TAYLOR ROBINSON, a senior at Ladue Horton-Watkins High School, is one of 814 high school athletes nationwide who have been nominated to play in the 2013 McDonald’s All American Games. The 2013 nominees include high school basketball players from across the country who have been selected by coaches, athletic directors, principals and members of the McDonald’s All American Games Selection Committee. Pictured: Taylor Robinson with Colleen Schoendienst, local McDonald's owner/operator