ABOUT SISSY'S JOY
Welcome to Sissy's Joy. We are dedicated to empowering disabled children through outdoor activities! We believe that every child deserves the chance to explore nature, build confidence, and create lasting memories. Join us to embark on exciting adventures like hunting and fishing, fostering inclusion and friendship along the way. Together, we can inspire a love for the outdoors and ensure every child's voice is heard
OUR STORY
Our story began on January 21st, 2017, when we welcomed Joycelynn Lane, our “Sissy Joy”, into this world. Joycelynn was born at 25 weeks and weighed 1 pound 10 ounces. Tiny but mighty is an understatement. Joycelynn had tetralogy of fallot, a congenital heart defect, and chronic lung disease from being a micro-preemie. Her heart could not get better without her lungs getting better. We spent the first year of her life at Arkansas Children's Hospital, where, at 9 months old, she received a tracheostomy.
On January 20th, 2022, the day before her 5th birthday, Joycelynn's tracheostomy tube became dislodged, and the caregiver did not replace it. This resulted in a global anoxic brain injury and Joycelynn unfortunately passed away on February 3rd, 2022.
Although she was "disabled," we never treated her differently than any other kid. The thing that always brought our Sissy Joy the most joy was being outdoors. We made special arrangements that allowed us to take her swimming, fishing, hunting, to water parks, on the boat, etc. During her years at home, Joycelynn advanced tremendously, and we contribute a lot of that to getting her outdoors and doing outdoor activities.
Our focus now is helping other children experience the things that she enjoyed, and not to be limited by “disabilities.” If you are interested in learning more about how we accomplish this goal, please contact us.
Accolades – August 3, 2022
Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty
Putting Patients First
Sometimes, “putting patients first” goes beyond providing exceptional care at the bedside. Dr. André Wineland, Associate Professor in Pediatric Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, turned a tragedy into a statewide training opportunity. A young patient with a tracheostomy died earlier this year after it accidently fell out and was not replaced in time. To prevent something like this from happening again, Dr. Wineland and his team organized the first annual Statewide Pediatric Tracheostomy Training Course.
Almost 50 people devoted their entire day on July 22 to learn how to better care for children with tracheostomies. Participants included therapists, nurses and administrators of day cares and schools. Parents of children with tracheostomies also participated, providing their unique perspective on caring for a child with a tracheostomy. The mother of the little girl who inspired Dr. Wineland shares why the initiative is so important in this video from Arkansas Children’s.
Kudos, Dr. Wineland. Creating a one-of-a-kind conference that will benefit countless lives is the epitome of putting patients first.