Daphne Steel has, in some ways, had a normal childhood. She swam and cheer-led, she trampolined to Miley and danced to Taylor, she watched Finding Nemo over and over. But due to malformations that disrupted her development and ignited seizure after seizure, she also spent countless hours at Tufts Children’s Hospital.

Despite Daphne’s health challenges, her mother, Kelly, had the utmost confidence in her daughter’s medical team. Daphne’s neurologist was “the best in the world,” and the pediatric unit “was like our home base,” she said. Then, in January 2022, she got a letter saying Tufts Children’s Hospital was closing. “At first I thought I was reading it wrong,” Kelly said.

At the end of March, Daphne started projectile vomiting. Then came seizures longer and worse than she’d ever had. Kelly rushed her to the nearest emergency room. They didn’t know what was going on and needed to transfer her. But Tufts—which, technically, wasn’t supposed to close until July—“wasn’t taking […]