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 […]
Tallmadge dancer uses Schroth therapy to deal with the pain of scoliosis
Tallmadge High School sophomore Maya King, age 15, barely remembers a time when scoliosis wasn’t part of her life. Diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic scoliosis at age 7, Maya and her family are doing everything in their power to keep her curve from progressing. One of the main reasons, according to Maya’s mom, Laura, is so […]
Magnetic growth rods help stabilize scoliosis for Suffield 3rd grader
Patrick Carr is no stranger to doctors or to Akron Children’s for that matter. Born with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes him to develop benign tumors in various areas of his body, he sees specialists in neurology, endocrinology and cardiology, and recently he added orthopedics to the mix. It was in 2018 at an […]
Schroth Method aims to reduce need for surgery in scoliosis patients
In July 2019, Melanie Tamulewicz took her 9-year-old daughter, Elle, in for what she thought would be a routine well visit with pediatrician Dr. Cheryl Markle. Instead of being sent on their way with a ‘see you next year,’ the Tamulewiczs left with a referral to one of Akron Children’s spine specialists. “When Dr. Markle […]
Halo traction therapy and spinal fusion surgery mean more ‘airtime’ for coaster enthusiast
For 14-year-old Matt Hill the news that he needed scoliosis surgery was far from welcome. It meant the rollercoaster aficionado had to keep two feet on the ground and sit out the already short Ohio coaster season last summer. A freshman at Hoover High School in Canton, Matt has been a platinum pass holder at […]
A safer scan for patients like Bailey
Bailey Fumich’s mother has lost count of how many X-rays he’s had to have since first being seen for scoliosis nearly a decade ago. “He’s had a lot,” said Tina McKenna, noting that Bailey got X-rays about every 6 months as doctors in the Akron Children’s spine program monitored his scoliosis. Now Bailey, who underwent […]
