Jessica Culbert was desperate for medical treatment to fix a defect in her heart’s electrical circuitry that caused an abnormally fast heartbeat. The defect, called supraventricular tachycardia, at times pushed Jessica’s heart rate as high as 240 beats per minute. She never knew when it might come on or how long it would last. It […]
Ablation with no radiation: Dr. John Clark advocates for safety
Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. John Clark stood over a patient who was under anesthetic for a heart catheterization procedure at Akron Children’s Hospital. He pointed to a red image shaped like a caterpillar on the wide screen. That’s the ablation catheter inside her heart. He will use the catheter tip to destroy an abnormal electrical pathway […]
Doctors, friends gather to raise funds for St. Damien Pediatric Hospital
On the eve of Halloween, ghosts and goblins were the furthest from Drs. Jeff and Ellen Kempf’s minds. Instead, they were focused on the children of Haiti. The husband-and-wife duo opened their home to host a gathering in honor of Dr. Jacqueline Gautier, CEO of St. Damien Pediatric Hospital and president of the Haitian Pediatric […]
A mission with heart: Day 3 in Haiti
A group of Akron Children’s doctors, nurses and staff travel regularly to Haiti to help care for the sick children at St. Damien Pediatric Hospital. This post is the last of a 3-part series by Dr. Grace Smith, who gives a first-person account of her most recent medical mission trip there. Read Part 1 and […]
Transplanting a pediatric cardiology program to Haiti takes team effort
For the past 2 years, children have been leaving Haiti – 2 at a time a few times a year – to come to Akron Children’s to have their heart defects repaired. But for each of these life-saving procedures we have performed, there are hundreds of children back in Haiti waiting for their turn. In many cases, time runs out.
Baby Jackson battles against the odds with heart (Video)
Jackson Straits has defied the odds. Diagnosed with non-immune fetal hydrops at 27 weeks gestation, this often fatal form of prenatal heart failure caused Jackson to develop fluid around his heart. Strong family faith along with the care of 3 Akron Children’s specialists came together to give him the best chance at life.
