Partnership Matters

Generous donors help pave the way for leading-edge research and innovative treatments.

Brayden (left) and Max hold a picture of their brother Mason and their own pieces of his prayer blanket. Mason was treated at Cincinnati Children’s when he and his twin, Max, were born prematurely and with several health conditions.

Grateful Grandmother Gives Back

As a grandmother, Peggy Blanton knows the importance of planning for her grandchildren's future. Each year, she makes contributions to their college savings accounts. But she also honors her grandson, Mason, who passed away shortly after birth.

When her daughter, Melissa, discovered she was having twins, she also learned that one of the twins, Mason, was not growing as well as his brother, Max. Her doctors in Lexington, Kentucky, knew the best care for Mason would be at Cincinnati Children's. Our experts determined he had kidney, heart and abdominal problems and worked with Melissa and her family every step of the way to come up with his care plan.

Just as Melissa and her husband were coming to grips with Mason’s health complications, she went into labor two months early. Melissa was taken by helicopter to a Cincinnati birthing hospital to be near Cincinnati Children’s.

Melissa’s doctors worked hard to delay her delivery while Cincinnati Children’s worked with the birthing hospital on plans for after the boys’ birth. When they were born, two days later, Mason was immediately transported to our Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to be treated by our expert neonatologists. Sadly, Mason lost his battle.

Peggy remembers the kindness her family felt while at Cincinnati Children's. She recalls clearly how she didn’t have the proper materials to cut a prayer blanket Melissa asked her to hem, and how the caring staff was able to quickly find the tools she needed to save a special memento for the family.

It is because of the kindhearted support and care given to her family that Peggy donates to the NICU at Cincinnati Children’s each year – at the same time she contributes to her other grandchildren's college funds. She hopes her contributions will help the doctors care for other fragile babies and give them a bright future.

Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund

Bringing joy to children in the hospital isn’t always easy, yet it’s been the mission of the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund for early 75 years. This past holiday season, the fund once again demonstrated Ruth Lyons’ commitment to brightening hospital stays for kids at Cincinnati Children’s with a $200,000 gift – their largest ever to the medical center. The gift brings the fund’s total contributions to the medical center to $4 million.

Created by Ruth Lyons, best known for her work as a local WLWT-TV5 talk show personality and host of the 50-50 club, the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund supports the Division of Child Life. The contributions are used to provide everything from crafts to interactive games for kids in the hospital. Ruth Lyons’ spirit lives on today as children in the hospital are still given comfort through these toys and games. Cincinnati Children’s is honored to be a part of her legacy.

Ruth Lyons visits a patient in an iron lung. This visit in 1939 is one of the many she made to Cincinnati Children’s to brighten spirits and bring toys and joy to children in the medical center.

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