When your son has spent 6 of the last 12 months in the hospital, simple “everyday” things – like getting your hair trimmed – tend to get neglected. That is the case for Nancy and Tom Ely, who have spent countless hours bedside with their 13-year-old son, Daniel. Daniel has autism, cerebral palsy, a degenerative […]
An angel not forgotten: Memories of Brian Montgomery 12 years later
After losing a child, your mind goes to all kinds of deep, dark places. In fact, there is a long period where you may not even remember going. But in coping with the darkness, your memory brings you the memories of your loved child, your son or daughter, your child… your baby. Memory is a […]
Palliative Care patients benefit from holiday generosity of Hirschbeck family
John Hirschbeck spent a 30-plus-year career developing a tough, unflappable exterior as one needs to have as a successful Major League Baseball umpire. Now retired, he was far from emotionless as he and his wife Denise handed out gifts to patient families from Akron Children’s Hospital’s Palliative Care program in the Mahoning Valley. The Hirschbecks […]
Palliative Care gives Courteney the chance to live life to the fullest
When faced with complex challenges, kids like Courteney Boyle, 17, and her family depend on Akron Children’s Palliative Care team to coordinate care so she can spend less time in the hospital and more time being a teenager.
Hirschbecks help brighten holidays for palliative care families
Ensley and Chanel Thomas have called their daugther Kensley their “diamond” since they first saw her in a NICU incubator after being born prematurely at 23 weeks. “She was in a glass case and we started calling her our diamond in the rough,” Ensley said, recalling a beautiful little girl hooked up to wires, machines […]
A day in the life of a palliative care provider
Palliative care nurse practitioner, Daniel Phillips, knows firsthand what it’s like to be a child with a chronic medical condition. Growing up with a neurological disorder called early-onset generalized torsion dystonia, he spent a lot of his childhood and adolescence in and out of hospitals. During his many hospitalizations he came to recognize and appreciate the […]
