It was Nov. 12 when little Rula Robinson was being discharged from Akron Children’s but already Christmas was on everyone’s mind. Rula had been in the hospital 238 days, but she would be home for Christmas. She would be with mom and dad, Sydney and Patrick, and her three big sisters – Arabella, Theia […]
Akron Children’s surgeon helps standout football player return to the field
Mason Moyer has had a senior high school year to remember – and it’s not even halfway over. The standout running back from Norwayne High School in Wayne County has wrapped up an achievement-filled football season despite suffering a fractured rib and partially-collapsed left lung at the start of his post season. Mason and his […]
Good Mourning Support Group helps four generations of family navigate grief
Since 2005, the Good Mourning Support Group at Akron Children’s has provided a compassionate space for children and families to navigate their grief together. According to the group’s facilitator, Nancy Carst, LISW-S, CT, who is also one of the hospital’s bereavement coordinators, “The program is designed to help children, and their parents and extended families, […]
Mother shares how bonds with Akron Children’s palliative care team lifted her family through their darkest days
When LaTisha Culler speaks of her late daughter Ayanna (Yanni), it’s easy for those who never met her to feel as if they know her intimately. “I used to call her my little ‘Punky Brewster,’” said LaTisha, a big fan of the TV show. “Yanni danced to her own tune, whatever she felt was right. […]
Innovative cardioneuroablation procedure heals woman’s heart issues
Twenty twenty-three turned out to be a year of unimaginable challenges for 39-year-old Laura Montoya. In March, her husband, Monty, a former Marine, stepped on a landmine while volunteering in Ukraine, losing a foot. As she navigated the aftermath of Monty’s traumatic injury, which required multiple trips to hospitals overseas and a move from Las […]
Akron Children’s Burn Institute provides lifesaving wound care for 82-year-old patient
As a NICU nurse at Akron Children’s, Rita Vitale is no stranger to caring for the tiniest, most fragile patients. However, she never expected that the same hospital would provide critical care to her 82-year-old mother, Sylvia. In 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Sylvia began developing red patches on her scalp that […]