Mitchell Hill

Loud noises rattle Mitchell Hill more than most. At 24-years-old, the Wilmette native endured 42 (and counting) MRI tests to ensure that a brain tumor, discovered when he was 2-years-old, has not returned.

As anyone whos had an MRI knows, the experience is jarringstuffed into a tube, unable to move, nothing to distract your mind from the noise.

The majority of Hills MRIs were done at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago Outpatient Center in Lincoln Park. The MRI room had sterile white walls and a looming massive MRI machine that rattled nerves as it stopped and started.

The tests were a very traumatic part of my childhood, Hill recalls.

Hill thought about how this process could be improved not only for himself but for others. He knew several members of Lurie Childrens staff and began to ask them questions.

Northbrook outpatient room PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR

In 2017, he met with a member of the Lurie Childrens Foundation team. They embraced his idea of a more child-friendly MRI room but at the time were unable to take on the project.

So I wrote that one off and thought, okay, its a good idea, but its not going to happen, Hill says.

Fast forward to Lurie Childrens work with Chicago artist Steve Musgrave at its new Surgical Center in Northbrook. Graphic illustrator Musgraves large-scale murals and digital designs have positively impacted childrens experiences at the main hospital.

Lurie Childrens Foundation called Hill and expressed an interest in using similar murals around the MRI machines at its Lincoln Park Outpatient Center. The Foundation gave Hill a dollar figure he needed in order to fund the installationand he was on it.

Lisa Mulvaney, Arts in Medicine Coordinator at Lurie Childrens, likens the installation process to being a conductor. She coordinates with artists, clinical teams, and vendors who fabricate and print the designs.

Its challenging to design illustrations around an MRI machine, Mulvaney says. The goal was to transform the entire feel of the room, and most importantly, the childs first impression.

The idea of transforming spaces and making the hospital feel less clinical and more child-friendly is something that has been part of Lurie Childrens mission from day one, explains Mulvaney.

As Lurie Childrens plans blossomed, so did Hills fundraising efforts. He turned to family and friends for the initial funds and managed to raise the dollars necessary for the Lincoln Park installation. He thought that was the end of it.

Check signing for art installation

Then Hill got another call from Lurie Childrens. They were inspired by the projects impact on patients and families and were beginning a renovation of their MRI suites at the main hospital. The rooms were bigger and so were the fundraising goals$10,000 per room. At the end of the project, there would be 4 MRI rooms.

I told them yes and then got off the phone, Hill recalls. I thought, this just went from a reasonable project to a project five times that amount. How am I going to pull this off?

He realized it would be better to partner with a corporate donor. At the time he worked for Revolution Brewing in Chicago.

If I was going to reach out to Chicago corporations, I might as well start with my employer, Hill says.

So he pitched Revolution Brewings CFO Doug Veliky. Velikys son was struggling with medical issues at the time and he was acquainted with the sterility of MRI rooms. In Veliky, Hill found someone who understood his mission. Veliky became a huge advocate and fundraised 76 percent of the projects goal.

As of now, Hill says he and Veliky have helped transform five MRI rooms at Lurie Childrens.

For 25 of my 40 tests, I had to be sedated because I was so anxious, Hill says. And coming off the anesthesia, as my mom will attest, was pretty extreme.

We want the designs to appeal to kids of all ages, Mulvaney elaborates. Theres also walking the fine line of making the designs friendly and engaging, but not overstimulating for kids who may have sensory issues, she explains.

This past September, Hills journey came full circle when he needed an MRI at the Outpatient Center in Lincoln Park, the first location that he helped transform.

Theres a big window that leads to a room full of doctors controlling the machine youre about to go intoalmost as if youre the subject of an experiment, he notes. With a fox decal, you cant see the doctors in the other room, which I thought was quite pleasing.

It appears that Hill has out-foxed some of the MRI room anxiety.

Read this article:

Just the Right Medicine - Daily North Shore