Miranda Wayne of Ham Lake, Minn., is waiting for a new heart, but that doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy a little spa time now and then. While she stays at University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, the salon in the new Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation Wellness Center provides a much-needed change of scenery.

“It’s a nice, refreshing change from being in her hospital room every day,” says Miranda’s mom, Melanie Wayne. “It makes her feel like a person.”

The Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation Wellness Center has quickly become a part of the Waynes’ routine since they arrived at the hospital in early May. Miranda gets her hair shampooed and styled there weekly. Melanie has had her hair cut there, too.

The space provides the necessary moments of self-care that allow patients and families to continue fighting for good health.

Support from the Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation not only made the center a reality but also provides massage, acupuncture, and other integrative therapies to patients and their family members. Life Time Fitness has contributed cardio and yoga equipment to the center’s exercise room so parents can take care of their own health while staying near their hospitalized child’s side. Minneapolis-based Intelligent Nutrients was the first to have its staff volunteer in the center’s salon, which offers free services to patients and family members.

Anyone faced with health complexities can speak to the value of self-care. Research has also validated its importance: caregivers who look out for their own well-being are able to provide better care for an ill child or loved one.

Says pediatrician Lynn Gershan, M.D., medical director of U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital’s integrative health and well-being program, “You have to put your own oxygen mask on before you help someone else put on theirs.”

Make a gift today to support programming at the Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation Wellness Center, or to learn more about how your gift makes a difference, contact Nicholas Engbloom at 612-626-8429 or engbloom@umn.edu.