Fox 4: Trach Family Day gives kids a chance to play

By Rebecca Gannon

Superheroes took over the Shawnee Civic Centre, for a bit, on Saturday.

Children ran through cardboard walls, took pictures, made shields, and dressed as superheroes, complete with capes and masks. Around many necks, the children had white collars. Those are their tracheostomies to help them breathe.

Children's Mercy hosted the event, calling it Trach Family Day. This is the second time it has hosted such a gathering.

For kids like 14 year old John Coburn, it was a chance just to be a kid.

Many kids who have trachs were born early and have under-developed lungs. Some will outgrow the need for a trach, others will have it for life.

Read the full story via Fox 4

Learn more about the Pediatric Tracheostomy and Home Ventilation Clinic at Children's Mercy