Portraits of Two Children's Hospital Patients Win National Award

MADISON - Portraits of two American Family Children's Hospital patients were awarded first and sixth place in a nationwide photo competition sponsored by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI).

Out of 237 photographs submitted from 56 children's hospitals, UW Health photographer John Maniaci's photos of Tyler DeGand (#1) and Savannah McCoy (#6) both placed in the top ten.

View the photo of Tyler | View the photo of Savannah

Tyler DeGand

Tyler, a 16-year-old high school sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, received a double-lung transplant in October 2009 at UW Hospital and Clinics and received care at American Family Children's Hospital.

At age 14, a severe staph infection ravaged his lungs and settled into his blood stream. He spent months on a ventilator before he was stable enough to be transferred to Madison for the transplant.

Tyler requested the shirtless pose on the day he went home from the hospital so he could remember how much strength it took to survive the journey. He is now enjoying life as a typical teenager.

Meet Tyler

In the video series, watch as Tyler Degand, his dad and his UW Health physicians - Nilto De Oliveira, MD and Richard Cornwell, MD - explain why Tyler needed a double-lung transplant at only 14, and how he is now able to enjoy being a teenager again.

Savannah McCoy

Savannah, 2, from Merrill, Wis., underwent open heart surgery at American Family Children's Hospital in January 2010 to repair a ventricular septal defect (hole in her heart). She is doing very well and has an excellent prognosis for a fully normal life.

Meet Savannah

Watch the slideshow of Savannah's stay in American Family Children's Hospital and see her one year later, a healthy a happy little girl.

The photos of Tyler, Savannah and the remainder of the top 50 photos in the contest will be unveiled at the NACHRI spring conference, "Creating Connections" in Baltimore in March. The photos also will be displayed on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in the summer.

"It's an honor to photograph the patients at American Family Children's Hospital every day," Maniaci says. "These awards are a testament to the spirit and bravery of these amazing kids."