Libby Parkins: 2025 Riley Champion

Libby Parkins was learning to drive when she fainted in a parking lot. The protocol for her school’s dance team was to take her out of play, but being short a dancer would force the team to forfeit the upcoming regional competition. Enter Michael Johansen, D.O., Libby's cardiologist at Riley Children’s Health. “He moved mountains to make sure she could still compete,” says Libby’s mother, Katie.The team qualified for state, and Dr. Johansen called afterward to check in.

At one time, dancing at all would have been impossible for Libby. As a baby she had difficulty sleeping and severe reflux. Doctors at a local emergency room ran a series of tests but told Katie Parkins that nothing was wrong with her daughter. It wasn’t until her pediatrician read the test results that the family learned Libby had an atrial septal defect, or a hole in her heart.

The very next day, specialists at Riley Children’s put together a new treatment plan that allowed Libby to thrive. When she was 5, Riley Children’s Cardiologist Mark Hoyer, M.D., repaired the hole in her heart. The child who used to fall asleep standing up was suddenly full of energy.

All seemed well until a series of broken bones in middle school. In July 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Libby learned she had scoliosis. She underwent spinal fusion surgery at Riley a month later. “She’s my bionic child,” Katie jokes.

Libby started fundraising for Riley at her seventh birthday party after asking her caregivers what she could do to give back to other kids like her. This year, she is co-president of Riley Dance Marathon at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. Several teachers and coaches nominated her for the Riley Champions program, with one noting, “Libby is becoming a catalyst for change.”

Libby is grateful that sharing her story can help kids in similar situations feel less alone. “Medical difficulty is hard by itself, and being a kid can add another layer of difficulty,” she says. She wants kids to know that “just because you have a medical condition doesn’t mean that you can’t do the things you love.” She models this, too, from playing the alto saxophone in band to serving on the Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council. “My scoliosis does define me,” she says, “but it doesn’t stop me.”