{"id":69951,"date":"2015-12-21T09:46:36","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T14:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//?p=69951"},"modified":"2018-06-25T16:22:40","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T20:22:40","slug":"therapy-dog-brings-smiles-to-sick-children-medical-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//therapy-dog-brings-smiles-to-sick-children-medical-students/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951//","title":{"rendered":"Therapy Dog Brings Smiles to Sick Children, Medical Students"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ion the 2-year-old boxer lies belly up as Palmer Vorkapich gives him rubs. If you didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019t know any better, you/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019d think the dog was smiling./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cHe/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s so soft,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d said the 6-year-old from her bed at Nemours Children/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s Hospital in Orlando. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cI love him./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
Ion is a certified therapy dog. His owner, Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ second-year-medical student Christa Zino, brings him to the hospital most Friday evenings to visit sick children./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cTo see their faces light up is priceless,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d she said./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
Despite the rigors and /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201ccraziness/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d of medical school, Zino finds time to visit each week /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2013 even during final exams this month /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2013 because she remembers what it was like to be in the hospital for months at a time. When she was about 3 years old, Zino spent a better part of the year in and out of hospitals while doctors tried to figure out what was making the Apopka native sick./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cThe only thing I remember with fondness about that year is the therapy dog visits,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d she said. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cAnd so I wanted to do something for children now, before I become a doctor and can help in other ways./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
The visits remind Zino why the 18-hour days of school and studying are all worth it./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cWhen I think it is too much and that I can/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019t handle everything, this reminds me that I have no problems and why I want to be a pediatric surgeon,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d said the 27-year-old. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201cI want to help children like the ones I see every week./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
Faculty at the Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ College of Medicine applaud Zino/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s efforts, and there/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s even a bonus for the school./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n
When Ion isn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019t visiting children at Nemours or chasing his Chihuahua roommate at home, he/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s lounging in the college/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s Student Academic Support Services office.
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/nThat/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/u2019s where he keeps office hours two days a week for stressed out medical students to stop by for doggy rubs or kisses before heading to their next class./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/69951/n