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Miami, FL – Pediatric cancer patients at Holtz Children’s Hospital will now be able to play games, watch movies and communicate with family and friends on iPads donated by Team Aaron, Inc., an organization created by 6-year-old cancer survivor, Aaron Pinsky.
Holtz Children’s, located at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, is the first hospital in Miami-Dade County to receive an Aaron’s iPad Lending Library – a Team Aaron program that was created by Aaron’s 10-year-old cousin, Sarah Clein.
On Thursday, March 6, Aaron, Sarah, and their family, presented 17 new iPads and cases, along with iTunes gift cards, to a team of Child Life specialists, doctors and nurses at Holtz Children’s.
“We’re thrilled to donate these iPads to the children at Holtz,” said Deborah Clein, Sarah’s mother. “We know they will love them and use them as much as Aaron did during his hospitalization.”
In 2012, Aaron was diagnosed with a rare bone and soft tissue cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma. During Aaron’s lengthy hospital stay, an iPad given to him by family friends became a great distraction from his treatments and poking and prodding by doctors and nurses. Aaron played games, watched movies and even used the device to video chat with relatives and friends who couldn’t visit him in the hospital.
His cousin, Sarah, noticed how happy the iPad made Aaron – and wanted to find a way for other pediatric cancer patients to also have access to the devices during their long hospital stays. She came up with the idea for Aaron’s iPad Lending Library and once Aaron completed his treatment and was diagnosed with no evidence of disease, she put her plan into action.
With the support and help of their family and the backing of Team Aaron, Sarah and Aaron launched the program in October 2013. Since then, they have donated 44 iPads to three children’s hospitals in South Florida – Holtz Children’s Hospital in Miami, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood and Palm Beach Children’s Hospital at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
“People were so generous to Aaron when he was going through treatment that we wanted to pay it forward,” said Beth Pinsky, Aaron’s mother.
The donated iPads will be used by Holtz Children’s patients during their stay in the hematology/oncology unit, as well as those in the pediatric bone marrow transplant unit.
“This generous gift will undoubtedly bring smiles to the faces of our patients as they go through an extremely challenging time in their lives,” said Steven Burghart, chief administrative officer at Holtz Children’s Hospital. “These iPads will allow Holtz patients to be like other kids who are well and at home as they play games, listen to music, connect with loved ones and just have fun. It’s a great distraction for them.”
For more information on Holtz Children’s, visit www.jacksonhealth.org. To learn more about Team Aaron, Inc., and Aaron’s iPad Lending Library, visit www.teamaaron.org.
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