New parents Cassie and Michael Amick spent the better part of 2020 looking forward to the birth of their first child, a boy, due in late February. Ashton Michael Amick made his entrance into the world on Feb. 3—3 weeks before his due date. “Besides being a little jaundiced for a day, he appeared […]
Akron Children’s work in Haiti is showcased in ‘Open Hearts,’ a CIFF documentary
Akron Children’s Hospital’s work with St. Damien Hospital in Haiti takes center stage in a new film being shown at the 2021 Cleveland International Film Festival. The 59-minute film, called “Open Hearts,” can be streamed for $10 from April 8 to 20. Of that, a $1 donation goes to the nonprofit MedWish. You can watch […]
Surgery to repair leaky valve mends 4-year-old’s “broken” heart
Addisyn Piekarski and her mom, Kristen, had just the right outfit in mind for Addisyn’s Jan. 13 follow-up appointment with her heart surgeon, Dr. Robert Stewart. Sporting a shirt covered in small hearts, with a large, sequin heart in the center, seemed fitting to meet with the man who just 8 days earlier had repaired […]
Wren Patterson like “a whole new baby” after heart repair
The day after Wren Patterson was born in October, doctors were concerned about a heart murmur and her low blood oxygenation. An echocardiogram at Aultman Hospital in Canton showed the reason. Wren had a congenital heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot, characterized by 4 malformations that robbed her of adequate blood flow to the lungs […]
Our top “In the Moment” posts from February 2020
There were some touching stories of children overcoming their health challenges sprinkled amongst our top February “In the Moment” posts. We invite you to take a glance at those you may have missed, or a second peek at those you’ve already enjoyed. 1. We provided this chart to help parents figure out if it is […]
Scotland Zinser has come a long way with rare heart condition
At 17 months old, Scotland Zinser learned to sit himself up. In a few weeks he was crawling. Then standing. “He started walking today,” his mother, Jillian Campbell, said one recent afternoon at their home near Portage Lakes, while her boy with vibrant red hair happily pushed on a stand-up walker toy. “I’m proud of […]
