Children's Healing Center Celebrates First Birthday with Community Open House

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Sept. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- The public is invited to tour the Center, which is the first year-round recreation center in the country for kids with weak immune systems, on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Community members will have a rare chance to tour the Center, which provides as close to a germ-free environment as possible and is not normally open to the public.

"Since our opening, community support has been the backbone of our organization," Executive Director Amanda Winn said. "Our goal is to provide a safe, clean place where kids with weak immune systems can come, play and be happy. We're thrilled to provide an opportunity to invite everyone in to celebrate our birthday."

The Center makes its home in a 7,000-square-foot facility with four main program areas: exploratory play, an active fitness space, tech zone and art and learning room. It offers scheduled classes, free play and kid-driven programming designed to promote learning and to appeal to children ages 3-18.

Some of the issues facing kids who visit the Center include: cancer, autoimmune disorders, organ and bone marrow transplants, Down syndrome, juvenile arthritis, spinal muscular atrophy, congenital heart disease, kidney diseases, blood disorders, severe allergies and asthmas and other conditions that suppress the immune systems and make even a small cold dangerous.

The treatment time for kids and families coping with some of these conditions averages 30 months. For others, though, their diagnosis can mean a lifetime of precaution against colds and infections that a healthy child could easily shrug off. In all cases, kids and families often tell us they feel isolated from the outside world by their diagnosis – but that the Center provides a refuge of fun of kids like Ellis Lerg.

"For five months, Ellis was 100 percent reliant on a feeding tube for all his food and liquids," says Stephanie Lerg. "So imagine having a mobile child hooked up to an IV pole just as he's starting to crawl and walk."

Ellis doesn't have an illness or disease per se, but his lungs have been compromised by an inexplicable inability to ingest food or drink without aspirating virtually everything he consumes. Because a virus or bacterial infection would have more serious consequences on him than other kids his age, his parents have to constantly safeguard him from threat of germs.

"Pretty much everywhere we go, we have to be cautious," Lerg explained. "The Children's

Children's Healing Center is a place where he can just run around and be a kid."

It's also respite from the storm for Ellis' older sister, Emma, 5, who suffers from various allergies, and also has to be careful of what she might contract for the sake of her brother's health.

"So it's actually the perfect place for both of them to go," says mom.

For more information, visit www.childrenshealingcenter.org.

About Children's Healing Center

Opening its doors in September 2015, Children's Healing Center is the first year-round recreation center in the nation for children with weak immune systems. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Center offers a safe, clean and interactive place for children ages 3 to 18 to come play, stay fit and have fun in a germ-free environment. For more information, visit www.childrenshealingcenter.org. Like us on Facebook /ChildrensHealingCenter or follow us on Twitter @healingkidsplay.