With 2 NICU grads, and a son needing therapy, the Reymann family is thankful for the care they’ve received throughout the years at Akron Children’s Hospital. To give back, the Reymanns have signed up to be Change Bandits to raise money for Akron Children’s “Have a Heart, Do Your Part” radiothon, which airs Feb. 12-14 on 98.1 WKDD. Sign up to support the radiothon.
Here’s their family’s story.
Our connection to Akron Children’s Hospital goes back 12 years.
Our first son, Derek, was born 5 weeks early via emergency C-section after a placenta abruption and was brought to Akron Children’s neonatal intensive care unit.
He spent the first few days of his life hooked up to a respirator trying to learn to breathe on his own. He spent the next few weeks learning how to regulate his body temperature and oxygen levels.
His final hurdle was being transitioned from an NG tube for feeding to a bottle with mom’s breast milk.
Those times were hard for us as parents, but the support we received from everyone at Akron Children’s was tremendous.
The doctors were knowledgeable, caring and willing to answer all our questions. The nurses seemed to exert a level of caring that would be shown as if they were taking care of their very own children.
Our second son, Daniel, was born 3 weeks early and did not require time in the NICU. However, he was diagnosed with high-function autism and has used many services at Akron Children’s. He receives both speech and occupational therapy there.
Our third son, Patrick, was born 6 weeks early and also spent a couple of weeks in the NICU. His stay mirrored Derek’s stay. He had to be on a respirator and learn how to be fed from a bottle.
When Patrick was 2, we decided to start participating in the March of Dimes annual walk. It was through that walk that we learned of many volunteer opportunities at Akron Children’s’ Hospital.
We currently volunteer as part of the NICU FACT team as parent mentors. The parent mentor program has proven to be very helpful as a resource for our son with autism, Daniel, and we’ve been able to connect with other groups of parents with similar challenges.
We love attending events such as the NICU Easter egg hunt, the teddy bear run, the Christmas ornament-making for the NICU, and the Walk for Babies at the Akron Zoo.
Akron Children’s Hospital has given a lot to us as a family to be thankful for, and we like to give back to them whenever possible.
Facebook Comments