It’s difficult to say precisely how many lives Nancy Carst has touched during her career, but it’s a certainty that she has been the comforting presence for thousands of parents during the most difficult time imaginable – the time when a parent loses a child. Nancy is retiring on Jan. 3 after 38 years, first […]
Mother shares how bonds with Akron Children’s palliative care team lifted her family through their darkest days
When LaTisha Culler speaks of her late daughter Ayanna (Yanni), it’s easy for those who never met her to feel as if they know her intimately. “I used to call her my little ‘Punky Brewster,’” said LaTisha, a big fan of the TV show. “Yanni danced to her own tune, whatever she felt was right. […]
Funding allows Palliative Care to offer adaptive footwear at no cost to Akron Children’s patients
Six-year-old Evelyn Horsfall has lived in northeast Ohio all her life but has never been able to play in the snow. This winter was different. For the first time, Evelyn played with her siblings in the snow in a pair of winter boots that stayed on securely. Evelyn, who has spastic cerebral palsy, wears leg […]
Families donate to Akron Children’s NICU and Palliative Care to honor and remember their babies
When Nate Evins learned his co-worker’s baby boy had passed away 11 days after birth, he felt a lot of sympathy. He and his wife had also experienced the loss of their baby, who lived 28 days after she was born. He asked his wife if she was willing to talk to his colleague, Brittany […]
Researchers get a global audience for work on narrative medicine
A team from Akron Children’s recently presented at the 21st Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET) Conference at the University of Cork, in Cork, Ireland. The presentation was on “Integrating Narrative Medicine in a Pediatric Clinical Setting: Understanding the Illness Experience of Children While Improving Health Outcomes.” Akron Children’s has one of the few hospital-based narrative […]
Palliative care helps Marissa Anderegg live her best life
There is no shortage of love in the Penrod household. It flows between Lori and Marv Penrod and Marissa Anderegg, their 19-year-old daughter who has several life-threatening conditions. From there, it extends to include Akron Children’s Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center, which has made caring for Marissa at home possible. “Palliative Care has always […]