Ethan Rutherford is your typical 14-year-old boy. He enjoys bowling on his junior league, racing go-karts and working to complete all the requirements to become an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America. On Jan. 20, his world flipped upside down when he went into sudden cardiac arrest. Ethan and his family had plans […]
Mom parenting 2 children with rare muscular disorder inspires those around her
Being a mom is hard work, especially when your child has special needs. Rebecca Lee, of Bath Township, doesn’t mind the extra effort at all. After suffering through the shock and pain of losing her first child shortly after birth, she says she especially appreciates the opportunity to be a mother to 7-year-old Jack and […]
Cardiologists team up to give boy new heart, second chance at life
In retrospect it all happened so fast. Linda and Ryan Amstutz watched in disbelief as their 3-year-old son, Colton, went from his normal, happy life of perpetual motion to his admission to pediatric intensive care, where doctors told them his young heart was failing and he might need to be put on the list for […]
Special needs don’t stop kindergartner from having a ball on bowling outing
When you are 5 years old and it’s a Tuesday morning, what could be better than going on a field trip to a bowling alley with your class? Jack Cleavenger has special needs but he was able to go bowling because Emily Ocheltree, a medical assistant in Akron Children’s School Health Services, was right by […]
PICU receives national award of excellence
The Beacon Gold Award for Excellence was recently awarded to our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The AACN created the Beacon Award to recognize individual unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN’s Healthy Work Environment Standards, which include: Leadership Structures and Systems […]
Discovery of heart defect led to life-saving surgery for Caden
In his first months of life, Caden Jacobson slept a lot more than his mother, Amanda, thought was normal. He mostly ate and slept, and he wasn’t growing much either. A first-grade teacher from Wooster, Amanda knew something was not right. Numerous trips to doctors didn’t point to any medical causes for Caden’s lethargy. But […]
