One day Kamryn Magaw was an active student athlete (tennis, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading), counting the days to the start of her freshman year at Archbishop Hoban High School. The next she was in an exam room at Akron Children’s with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon showing her an x-ray of her curved spine. She […]
Patient Stories
Confessions of prenatal ultrasound techs
A YouTube video of an ultrasound showing a 14-week-old fetus clapping while her parents sing, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands,” generated all sorts of online discussions about whether this was indeed possible. Can the fetus react to sounds, music and the like? Or was it a reflex like the hiccups? What exactly does go on in there?
Local family is glad Akron Children’s emergency and spine care is so close
Childhood is a time of exploring, climbing, jumping and living carefree. When things don’t go quite right, the Ehrhart family of New Middletown is thankful there’s Akron Children’s ER. “We’ve been to the Akron Children’s ER about once a month for the past 18 months for one thing or another,” said Joni Ehrhart, mom […]
Post-scoliosis surgery, college decathlete is at top of his game
When you are a college decathlete, you are first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. After all, you have 10 events – from sprints and distance races, long and high jumps, hurdles, pole vault and discus and javelin throws – to master. Colin Roberts, 18, is not only thriving as a freshman […]
Family’s gift of life insurance to support behavioral health services
A recent donation of $1 million from Christopher Thompson and his family – made through a gift of a life insurance policy – will be used to support the programs and services in the Mahoning Valley at the Lois and John Orr Family Behavioral Health Center. The center is home to pediatric behavioral health services […]
Shilla (growth) rods allow young scoliosis patient to continue to grow
At the tender age of 24 hours old, Isaac Lauper underwent his very first surgery at Akron Children’s. Born with spina bifida myelomeningocele (a neural tube defect where the spine is exposed), Isaacs’s spine needed to be surgically closed after birth. Due to many other conditions that are secondary to his spina bifida, Isaac has […]













