Therapy center helps restore normalcy to familiy's lives

AKRON, Ohio - This past March, life turned upside down for the Mooneesawmy family of Cleveland after their youngest daughter, Xaria, was diagnosed with leukemia.

"We had never really discussed illness with them because we had never been impacted by illness," said Erin Mooneesawmy.

Now, they're living it firsthand at Ronald McDonald House in Akron, where they've been staying in order to be closer to the Xaria's doctors, temporarily leaving behind the only life all three of their children have known that is until they stumbled upon the Emily Cooper Welty Expressive Therapy Center.

"We usually do crafts, we do family time and that was something the center brought to us.  We were able to find of do something together like we had always done in the past," said Mooneesawmy.

The 3000 square foot, sky-lit center provides art and music therapy to patients and their families.  Everything has been donated from the art supplies to the musical instruments.

"I think that this center in particular is a great place for kids to feel like kids again while they are in here. We are not making them go through medical treatments.  We're not going to ask them to take medicine or they're not in here to get their blood pressure and you know to do these things, but they are in here to be kids and to be expressive and to have a choice," said Molly Kohut the  ‎Art Therapy Coordinator at Akron Children's Hospital.

Therapist work with patients at the center and in their rooms on things like identifying and expressing their feelings.  Patients also are taught how they can manage their stress and their pain.