Patients and care providers at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta show the strength, determination and perseverance of a professional athlete inside our hospital walls every day. During a season where we come together to celebrate these qualities, we wanted to remind our patients and physicians how we celebrate them as well.
When it comes to treating teens and kids, Children’s is the torch bearers for all of Atlanta.
So, we appointed torchbearers from across our system to highlight why we are passionate about carrying the torch to our future: Arthur M. Blank Hospital. We hope the video inspires those who see it and rallies the community to help us carry that torch.
Meet our torchbearers
Freddie Falcon
Freddie loves cheering for the Falcons, shaking his tailfeathers and bringing smiles to the patients at Children’s. He’s always been a big fan of the nurses and physicians, too, and cheers them on as they provide the best care possible.
Andrew Jimenez
Andrew was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in November 2018 at Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s. The Atlanta United superfan dreams of becoming a professional soccer player when he grows up and ringing the bell in March 2021 to celebrate his completion of chemotherapy treatment put him one step closer to that goal.
Dr. Krishna Eechampati
Dr. Eechampati has treated patients at Children’s for more than 20 years. In his role, Dr. Eechampati is full-time clinician who treats patients in addition to ensuring Children’s Urgent Cares are properly staff and can provide the best care. He is also an avid hiker who has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro twice, Everest base camp and several peaks across the US.
Wisdom Leaks
Wisdom was born with VACTERL association resulting in a variety of medical conditions including cardiac defects and limb differences. She’s undergone five surgeries in her two years of life including two open heart surgeries at Children’s Heart Center, spine surgery and recent surgery on her right limb at Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Center of Children’s.
Nigel Odom
Nigel was one of the first enrollees in the Preschool Program at Marcus Autism Center, where children with and without autism learn together in an inclusive environment, after being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 1-year-old. This past May, the “Mayor of Preschool” celebrated his pre-school graduation and is prepared to put his well-honed social skills to work as he starts kindergarten this fall.
Tai Ann Wright
Tai Ann has a rare bone condition that effects every muscle in her body causing stiffness and contractions, resulting in pain in her joints on a daily basis. She has undergone at least 28 procedures at Children’s since she was 4-months-old to help improve her quality of life, including a recent bilateral hip replacement at Children’s Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Center. She works hard during her Robotic Rehabilitation sessions to improve her walking gait and strengthen her muscles.
Blooper
Blooper is big, fuzzy, funny and he loves the Braves. He also enjoys making the patients at Children’s laugh whenever he visits one of the hospitals or when they join him at Truist Park to watch a ball game. Sometimes, a fuzzy hug is the best medicine.
Ian Bicknell
Ian was part of a milestone moment in the food allergy world: he received the first ever dose of a new FDA-approved peanut allergy oral immunotherapy treatment at Children’s on March 13, 2020. Ian has had a life-threatening allergy to peanuts for as long as he can remember, but that doesn’t stop him from achieving his own milestones on the baseball field.
Dr. Brian Vickery
Dr. Brian Vickery is a pediatric allergist-immunologist whose clinical and research efforts focus on understanding the pathophysiology of food allergies and anaphylaxis, and developing new therapies to treat them. In 2020, he administered the first ever dose of a new FDA-approved peanut allergy oral immunotherapy treatment for pediatric patients at Children’s.
Bailey Moody
Bailey was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right knee at 10-years-old and soon after underwent a rare form of amputation called rotationplasty surgery at Children’s. She continued her love of basketball by transitioning to wheelchair basketball and will be competing in Tokyo this year.
News coverage of the video premiere
