A Magazine from Akron Children's
From cancer to mental health issues to severe burns, treatment can be a long and sometimes painful process. Akron Children’s caregivers love to encourage patients along the way — and celebrate when they finish treatment. Here are some special ways Akron Children’s departments show support for their patients.
Caroline Martin proudly shows beads she collected throughout her cancer treatment.
Spreading cheer together, Beads of Courage CEO Beth Moneck (left) shows off beads with Child Life Specialist Renee Redenshek.
Patients battling cancer receive a keepsake — a colorful, artist-made glass bead — to mark each blood draw, hospital admission, chemo round, test or procedure. Ask any patient with cancer or a blood disorder about a bead on their strand, and they will know the story behind it. They might have even designed one or two beads themselves, thanks to the national nonprofit Beads of Courage, Inc. and local donors who make it all possible.
“Patients are so proud to display their beads,” said Child Life Specialist Renee Redenshek. “It’s flipped the script from, ‘I went through all of these terrible, scary things’ to ‘Look at how brave I was this whole time during treatment.’ It’s been a really helpful tool.”
In addition to Beads of Courage, patients can create a pair of custom-designed sneakers at the start of cancer treatment. The shoes — donated by the nonprofit organization Project Outrun — remind patients of the importance of staying active and continuing to pursue their dreams.
Project Outrun also coordinates end-of-treatment ceremonies that have taken on the vibe of a marathon finish line party. There’s a giant inflatable finish line arch, a medal, a gift card to the patient’s favorite restaurant and a bell to ring. But first, the patient pass through a tunnel of friends, family and providers holding signs, tossing streamers and clapping.
“We call them Finish Line Festivals because what these kids are enduring is so physical,” said Project Outrun founder Andy Shepperd. “Providing the Finish Line Festivals — and celebrating end of treatment with our Project Outrun families — means so much to us. We love being a part of their fight and their finish, as they ring cancer’s bell.”
Levi Buxman, with his parents Branden and Lauren, rings the end-of-treatment bell after battling leukemia since being diagnosed in November 2023.
At PHP graduation, each patient chooses a marble to symbolize the skills and support they received during the program.
For young people diagnosed with anxiety, depression or other behavioral health challenges, the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) offers 10 days of intensive psychiatric services in an outpatient setting. When it’s time to fully reengage with school and home life, the PHP graduate chooses a marble — and fellow participants gather in a circle for a send-off.
“Each patient holds the marble and shares an affirmation,” said Catherine Thier, behavioral health clinical operations supervisor. “It might be something like ‘I like your style,’ ‘I like the way you opened up about your trauma’ or ‘I appreciated the way you validated me.’ The therapist writes down all the comments, we decorate and laminate it. I know of PHP graduates who still have that marble 10 years or more later.”
PHP graduates receive affirmations from fellow program participants.
Alayna Bailey’s care team, family and friends gathered for her clap-out to celebrate the end of inpatient burn treatment.
To overcome a severe burn requires strength and perseverance. When patients complete treatment at the Adult and Pediatric Burn Institute, supported by The Paul and Carol David Foundation, they ring a restored fire bell that features a quote from the late actor Christopher Reeve: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
Anjay Khandelwal, MD, FACS, FICS, FABA, medical director of the Burn Institute, said each patient’s bell-ringing ceremony is personalized with music, messages and the people important to their recovery. “We give them a medal — a symbol of the phoenix that indicates rising from the ashes,” he shared. “The medal is inscribed with the words: courage, strength, resilience and hope. I let them know how proud we are of them as a team.”
From inspiring stories, to medical miracles, the More childhood, pleaseTM magazine will make you appreciate those precious 6,574 days of childhood.
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