Wyatt Miller of Newcomerstown was a rambunctious toddler. There were no signs of a serious, congenital heart defect that would change his life forever. At a checkup when he was 20 months old, Wyatt’s doctor detected a heart murmur. A week later, Wyatt returned to the doctor’s office because of an ear infection, and a […]
From operating room to viral stardom: 10-year-old gains a following on TikTok
Aubree Blake, age 10, is a bit of a TikTok star thanks to her candid videos sharing her experiences as a young lady living with a heart condition. At 8 days old, Aubree was diagnosed with a coarctation of the aorta, a birth defect where a portion of the aorta is narrower than usual causing […]
Mending tiny hearts: Surgery for congenital heart defect gives 6-year-old a healthy future
Leonardo Velazquez Miller is an active, healthy 6-year-old who loves to swim and play soccer in his hometown of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Looking at him now you wouldn’t suspect he was born with Dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries or d-TGA, a congenital heart defect (CHD) where the 2 main arteries carrying blood out of […]
Hear Dakota’s heart-warming story about a well visit that saved his life
While our son, Dakota, was born at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic — in the winter of 2021 — we were ecstatic he was healthy with no cause for concern. Weighing 9 pounds and measuring 22 inches long, he was every bit the pure joy our family had waited 42 weeks for. In his […]
Akron Children’s is a national leader in cardiac surgery outcomes
Akron Children’s has successfully achieved shorter lengths of stay for open-heart surgery in infants and pediatric patients, including lengths of stay that are half as long as most other programs. “Our average length of stay is three days, but we are trending toward two days for many common open-heart procedures,” said Robert Stewart, MD, Akron […]
Akron Children’s orthopedic surgeons reduce opioid prescriptions by 54 percent
As the opioid crisis grew into a national epidemic, the nine pediatric orthopedic surgeons at Akron Children’s began analyzing their own pain prescribing practices and how they compared with peers. This led to a standardized protocol that has reduced the amount of narcotics being prescribed by 54 percent. “The opioid epidemic, a multifactorial issue with […]
