Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando opens

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando's new children's hospital officially opened on Monday.

Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando's Medical City began taking patients at 8 a.m., and one of the first families admitted said they drove four hours to get there.

The Vasquez family said it's worth the drive because their daughter, Alyssa, needs years of specialized treatment to be able to walk normally.

Her mother, Amy Vasquez, said they drove from Savannah, Ga., and Vasquez is one of the first patients to be admitted into the hospital.

"It's absolutely worth it to come get what you know is top-notch care," said Amy Vasquez.

Alyssa Vasquez has one leg growing faster than the other, causing the longer leg to grow crooked.

"I think we're all set. We did a lot of simulations; we did a lot of work the last month to get ready for this day. It's really the culmination of a decade of work by a lot of people at Nemours," said Dr. Steven Frick of Nemours Hospital.

Her treatment will continue for years -- but the end result will be normal adulthood.

Hers is just one of the cases for which the new multimillion-dollar facility was designed.

The hospital can eventually hold nearly 140 patients, including premature infants.

The six-story facility cost almost $400 million to build.

WFTV