Paul and Becky Lee’s son, Jack, entered the world 8 weeks early. It wasn’t apparent until the next day that something was wrong, other than his prematurity. Jack didn’t move, and doctors suspected a neurological condition. Jack spent 10 weeks in the Akron Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and then another 15 weeks in […]
More Than a Job: Emily Cihon celebrates National Speech-Language-Hearing Month
As a child, Emily Cihon always thought teaching would be her professional calling. “I always wanted to be a teacher or work with kids, I even got an overhead projector as a birthday gift as a preteen so I could pretend to teach in my basement,” she says. “However, I also wanted to work in […]
Orthopedic surgery corrects musculoskeletal issues for teen with cerebral palsy
Going to an indoor water park was on Alexis Walsh’s birthday bucket list. Alexis, who turned 14 in October, 2023, thought it would be fun, especially riding rafts down the slides with her family. During Christmas break, Alexis fulfilled her wish and enjoyed a mini family vacation to a local water park. The outing was […]
Akron Children’s employee publishes book, shares breast cancer journey
In 2017, at just 36 years old, Shelly Vaughn learned she had breast cancer. Although she knew she was at higher risk of developing it since her mother was diagnosed with the disease just 3 years earlier, she said the news still felt unexpected and disorienting. “I went through the motions and heard the words […]
Annie’s Super Strength
With her larger-than-life personality, Annie, 6, has always had an unbreakable spirit despite her medical conditions. At her mom’s 5-month ultra sound, Annie’s arms and legs were measuring smaller than a typical baby. Specialists thought she may have achondroplasia (dwarfism), but genetic testing and additional scans revealed more concerns. Doctors detected healing breaks in her […]
Putting a stop to stuttering
From the first utterances of “mama” and “dada” to poignant questions like, “Why is the sky blue?,” a child’s speech development is one of her most important and exciting milestones. For as many as 5% of toddlers, however, this development may be hindered by the use of repeated words, phrases or drawn out syllables that […]
