Akron Children’s employee experiences the hospital in a whole new way

The Stover family

During her nearly 12 years as a senior desktop operations assistant in Information Services, Spicey Stover has heard countless trauma alerts over Akron Children’s overhead speakers. Each one meant another family was living through the worst day of their lives. She never imagined one day it would be hers.

A routine workday changed forever

On March 31, 2026, Spicey was at work when her phone rang. Her 12-year-old son was on the other end.

“He called to tell me his 7-year-old sister Mari was hit by a pickup truck while riding her Razor scooter,” Spicey said. “It happened right in front of our house.”

Spicey headed straight to the emergency room (ER) when she heard an overhead announcement that a trauma patient was incoming.

“I knew it was Mari,” she said.

Mari Stover suffered two skull fractures when she was hit by a pickup truck in March 2026. She spent six weeks at Akron Children’s following her accident.

A mother’s worst nightmare

When Spicey arrived in the trauma bay, physicians, nurses and other caregivers were working frantically around her daughter. With her husband and son still at the accident scene speaking with police, Spicey had to face those first scary moments alone.

A CT scan revealed Mari had two skull fractures. She was taken immediately to surgery, where Akron Children’s pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Gwen Hughes repaired the fractures by placing two plates in Mari’s skull. Luckily, Mari’s skull fractured in such a way that her brain was able to swell without causing additional damage.

The start of recovery

Following surgery, Mari spent two weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), including one week in a medically induced coma while her brain healed. As the care team gradually reduced her medications, they noticed something that still makes Spicey smile.

“Even though Mari was unconscious, every time staff talked to her and gave her a compliment, her brain pressure went down,” she said.

Once Mari was stable, she transferred to the inpatient rehabilitation unit where she slowly began to open her eyes, talk and participate in therapy.

But just as Mari was beginning to regain strength, another serious injury required attention.

Another surgery

The accident had left Mari with severe road rash on her arm that extended into the fatty tissue beneath her skin. She was transferred to the Adult and Pediatric Burn Institute, supported by The Paul and Carol David Foundation, where burn surgeon Dr. Deepak Ozhathil performed a skin graft using skin from Mari’s thigh. After several days in the burn unit, she returned to rehabilitation.

For the next three weeks, Mari participated in intensive rehabilitation including occupational, physical and speech therapy.

After six weeks in the hospital, she was discharged on May 15.

“She walked out of the hospital on her own,” Spicey said. “She didn’t need a wheelchair and doesn’t require any equipment at home.”

Today, Mari is back to doing what every 8-year-old should be doing – playing with dolls, making crafts, coloring and experimenting with makeup. This fall, she’ll begin third grade at Rimer CLC.

She continues outpatient speech therapy to improve her short-term memory and word retrieval following her traumatic brain injury. She also remains under the care of Dr. Hughes, Dr. Ozhathil and pediatric physiatrist Dr. Adam Bartlett, as she continues her recovery.

Today, Mari is back to doing what every 8-year-old should be doing – playing with dolls, making crafts, coloring and experimenting with makeup. This fall, she’ll begin third grade at Rimer CLC.

Seeing the hospital differently

Mari wasn’t the only one changed by the experience.

After more than a decade at Akron Children’s, Spicey thought she understood the hospital. Experiencing it as the mother of a critically injured child gave her an entirely new perspective.

“I saw things I’d never really paid attention to before,” she said. “Working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) cleaning the nurses’ computers, I’m used to seeing the care teams rounding from room to room. It wasn’t until I was part of a patient’s family that I really understood and appreciated what that meant.”

Grateful for her daughter’s care

Throughout Mari’s six-week hospitalization, Spicey gained a new appreciation for the small moments that make a big difference. Things like caregivers who take the time to explain things. Therapists who celebrate every milestone. And familiar faces who stop by simply to offer encouragement.

“A lot of people recognized me on the units,” she said. “It was nice to see friendly faces.”

Spicey was equally grateful for the support she received from her own department. She took six weeks off to be with Mari, and her co-workers regularly checked in to offer encouragement and support.

Spicey says she’s always been proud to work at Akron Children’s. Now she knows what it feels like to place her daughter’s life in the hands of the people she works alongside every day.

“The care we received went above and beyond my expectations,” she said. “I’m so thankful to everyone who cared for Mari and helped her get back to being a kid.”