It’s difficult to say precisely how many lives Nancy Carst has touched during her career, but it’s a certainty that she has been the comforting presence for thousands of parents during the most difficult time imaginable – the time when a parent loses a child. Nancy is retiring on Jan. 3 after 38 years, first […]
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. […]
Narrative medicine, patient journals support patients on their health care journey
As narrative medicine coordinator, Nicole Robinson witnesses on a daily basis the healing power of listening to the stories of our patients, their families and our hospital staff. “Narrative medicine is the use of literary arts to help patients, families and staff tell and listen to stories,” she said. “For children and families, it may […]
Funding allows Palliative Care to offer adaptive footwear at no cost to Akron Children’s patients
Six-year-old Evelyn Horsfall has lived in northeast Ohio all her life but has never been able to play in the snow. This winter was different. For the first time, Evelyn played with her siblings in the snow in a pair of winter boots that stayed on securely. Evelyn, who has spastic cerebral palsy, wears leg […]
Akron Children’s secures NIH grant to lead research for home-based pediatric palliative care
Akron Children’s has been awarded a three-year $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to better define the practices of high-quality pediatric palliative care, particularly in seeking out the voices of the children, teens and young adults at the center of that care. Dr. Daniel Grossoehme, a […]
Helping your child deal with grief
While death is a part of life, that doesn’t make it any easier to talk about. Death is a tragic event for both kids and adults alike. As parents, we naturally try to shield our children from the heartache and sadness by not talking about it. When in fact, avoiding the topic of what’s happened […]
