Sandy Springs offers variety of summer camps ► PAGE 4
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Sandy Springs student works to aid children
Music-minded pair customize repertoire to suit seniors’ tastes By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com CUMMING, Ga. — Close to two dozen residents at the Oaks at Hampton assisted living facility tapped their feet, clapped their hands and nodded their heads side to side listening to Nick Vernola and his brother Mike play familiar tunes. Gathered around in big, comfy couches and armchairs, residents listened to songs from the “Great American Songbook.” Some dogs were wandering about, probably feeling the music too. “That's a fictitious book that exists, but everybody knows what songs are in it. It’s songs that everybody knows — that’s why,” Nick said. Wearing a red beret and shirt with musical notes, Nick took the lead of the set and introduced songs with history lessons and personal anecdotes. He played the virtual accordion, as part of the moniker Memory Lane. Nick’s instrument had been programmed with a couple hundred different types of recordings, or samplings.
Campaign strives to ease suffering By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A Sandy Springs teen has embarked on a mission to help ease the pain of kids suffering from cancer, blood disorders and other rare conditions. In mid-April, Elizabeth McCall, a rising junior at the Marist School in Brookhaven, decided she wanted to work on a project that would mix her interests in STEM while helping sick kids in need. So, she launched a GoFundMe campaign for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. The goal is to raise $2,500 to buy 50 devices called “Buzzys,” which will make it easier for kids to receive injections and blood draws. McCall said a Buzzy is an electronic device with an icepack, that is held on a patient’s skin vibrating at high speeds, numbing areas targeted for sharp needle pricks that kids with cancer and other disorders have to regularly suffer through. “It alleviates and numbs the pain that comes from receiving blood draws, finger pricks and any sort of medical treatment,” she said. “For children to have to go through a disorder that’s that painful, I just wanted to go after what I could to help.” Often designed to look like bees, ladybugs and butterflies, with vivid colors and silly eyes, McCall said that Buzzys are cute and versatile devices that can be worn on a band at the injection site or can be used like a handheld massager. But each Buzzy is expensive, she said, about $50 per device. That’s not part of CHOA’s budget, leaving the hospital to rely on donations to fill their needs for the Buzzies.
See McCALL, Page 11
See MUSIC, Page 10
More info ELIZABETH MCCALL/SUBMITTED
Sandy Springs teen Elizabeth McCall holds a kit containing a Buzzy device, used to help sick children manage pain from injections. McCall recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to provide Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta with dozens of the devices.
To book a show with the Nick Vernola, visit accordionshow.com. He’s open to playing private parties, restaurants, nursing facilities, retirement and senior living centers as well as farmers markets.