At Cincinnati Children’s, we fix smiles.

We mend hearts.

We repair brains.

We fight infections.

We help families be brave.

We help kids grow strong.

We give them second chances.

And we celebrate when they say,

Lilly McLane weighed less than 2 pounds when she arrived four months early. She

needed surgery at Cincinnati Children’s to repair a bowel perforation. Her first

diapers were doll-sized and still too big for her. After four months at Cincinnati

Children’s, she grew strong enough to go home. She’s now 3 years old. “The nurses

and other staff always had words of encouragement so we could stay strong for our

tiny girl,” says her mother, Ashley, who still stays in touch with some of the nurses.

Peyton Stout was born two months early with such severe

complications that doctors told his parents he would not survive.

After three months of specialized care at Cincinnati Children’s,

Peyton beat the odds. He has been diagnosed with a mild case

of cerebral palsy, but he is a thriving 5-year-old. “He walks with

assistance and talks non-stop,” says his mom, Katie. “Thank

you to all of the wonderful doctors, nurses and therapists at

Cincinnati Children’s.”

Maryn Osterfeld was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 9 months old and needed surgery. Just when she should have been learning to crawl or walk, she had to spend months in a spica cast, then a hip brace. Now 2 years old, those days are a distant memory. She wears a brace only when she sleeps. “She can crawl, walk, run and just learned to jump,” says her mom, Mara.

When David and Marisa Kroger found out their son Zack needed skull surgery, they were

scared. They wondered if life would ever be the same. Specialists at Cincinnati Children’s

performed multiple surgeries to help Zack’s skull and eye muscles develop properly.

Today, Zack is 8 years old and doing just !ne, thanks to care he received here.

Harrison Curtis was born

on March 6, 2008. A routine

ultrasound had warned that

he had a heart condition. On

March 9, Harrison underwent

a nine-hour surgery to repair

his heart. He spent a month at

Cincinnati Children’s recovering.

His two older brothers were not

allowed in the hospital room

during his recovery, so the

hospital’s Child Life specialists

arranged for them to meet

their new brother via webcam.

“Today, Harrison is doing great

and is under the continued

care of the kind people at the

Heart Institute at Cincinnati

Children’s,” says his mom,

Allisha. >>>

Jaelynn Buf!ngton was born in 2010 with a bilateral complete

cleft lip and palate. She had to be fed with a syringe for her !rst

month of life. Specialists at Cincinnati Children’s performed

surgeries and fixed her smile. Her mother, Crysta, says it’s

nothing short of “amazing.”

Several months ago, we asked families to send in photographs

from their experiences at Cincinnati Children’s so we could

look back at their medical journeys. More than 100 families

sent in snapshots. We invited 14 families back to tell us about

how far they’ve come. These are their stories.

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Austin Haarmeyer had brain surgery in August 2010 to remove a

brainstem cavernoma. Doctors discovered it after Austin suddenly

lost the use of his right side at 13 months old. His “before” picture

was from the day after surgery, when they removed the bandage

that they called his “racing hat.” He’s now 3 years old and loves to

run and climb. “The surgery was very risky,” says his mom, Paula.

“But I am happy to report that Austin is doing great.”

Katelynn Pottebaum’s arrival eight weeks early was fraught with complications. Katelynn’s underdeveloped lungs made it hard for her to absorb oxygen, and caregivers at her birth hospital said there was nothing else they could do. But to everyone’s amazement, Katelynn held on. Nurses at Cincinnati Children’s slowly weaned her off oxygen so she could breathe on her own, and before long, she was able to go home. “The exit from the hospital was bittersweet,” says her mother, Christina. “We are forever indebted to every single person who came into contact with Katelynn. I swore at that moment we’d never forget Children’s and what they did for us.”

Anna Birck was born in December 2002 with a congenital

diaphragmatic hernia, a life-threatening birth defect that causes

respiratory distress. She had surgery at Cincinnati Children’s three

days after birth. “We brought her home on Christmas Eve, the best

gift we could have wished for that Christmas,” says her mom, Jane.

Anna is now a happy, healthy 9-year-old.

Scan to watch our “Look at Me Now” Video.

In January 2007, Evan Perez

had the last of four surgeries

to keep him from having any

more ear infections. Multiple

infections had impaired his

hearing, and he had a speech

delay. The surgeries allowed

him to hear like a typical child,

and he graduated from the

speech therapy program two

years ago. At 12, he has a great

vocabulary, hears well and is

captain of his baseball team.

“Nothing compares in Cincinnati,

or anywhere, to the service we

had at Cincinnati Children’s,”

says his mom, Laura. Today,

Evan is 11 years old and glad to

be healthy.

Jane Roberts spent her

!rst year in and out of

Cincinnati Children’s for

heart surgeries to correct a

series of congenital heart

defects. “Being told she

probably wouldn’t survive

was devastating,” says her

mom, Andrea. “Seeing her

pull through four open-heart

surgeries, months of hospital

stays and years of therapy

was amazing.” Today, she

is 9 years old and perfectly

healthy. As a third-grader,

she had the reading level and

comprehension of a ninth-

grader. The family’s “before”

picture is of Jane connected

to lots of tubes and monitors.

Today, her family can hug her

much more easily.

Chase Daisey was a healthy 1-year-old when he was admitted to the hospital after battling a fever for several days. An infection that had started in his throat turned into an abscess and infected his lymph nodes. He needed two surgeries and a two-week stay at the hospital. “I remember wondering how we ended up there,” says his mom, Julie.

“But we knew we were in the right place. The healing that happens inside these walls is powerful. The people are amazing. We will never forget our time here and those who touched our lives.”

His parents thought Austin Claytor just had a cough when they took him to the doctor in 2009. It turned out to be a staph infection that nearly wiped out his airway and lungs. Doctors placed him on an arti!cial lung machine. There were moments when his family wondered if he would ever recover. But he pulled through. He had to relearn how to walk and talk, but today he is getting ready for junior high. He loves hunting and !shing and is back to playing sports again. “We really don’t notice much difference in him,” says his dad, Otis, “other than he is super strong.”

When Holly Danneman was pregnant with her second set of twins, a routine ultrasound revealed complications. One twin, Jake, had developed a near-fatal condition. At 29 weeks, he required immediate surgery to save his life. Twin Jenna was along for the ride. Holly, an

emergency medicine physician, says no amount of medical training could have prepared her and her husband, Jim, for the family’s medical journey. Nine years later, Jake is an athlete. Jenna is a scholar and a dancer. They’re the middle children in a pack of six kids. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of how blessed we are,” their mother says.