A Mt. Lebanon artist is invoking the Ghosts of Pittsburgh Past to help with medical costs for her nearly year-old grandson, who spent the first nine months of life in the hospital.
In "Jacob's Pittsburgh," the names of present and past local landmarks, such as the Jenkins Arcade and "Bridge to Nowhere," on multicolored strips of paper form a collage of the city's skyline.
There are also names of bygone institutions, businesses and people, including the Roselia Foundling and Maternity Hospital, Owl Cab Co., and Bob Prince and his signature "Kiss It Goodbye."
Carole Orlansky hopes the warm feelings they generate in longtime Pittsburghers will help sell framed prints of the collage, defraying such expenses for grandson Jacob Orlansky as a $2,000 stroller that fits all the machinery he requires.
Jacob, son of Jasonn and Sabrina Orlansky of Monroeville, was born in Magee-Womens Hospital 14 weeks early on Jan. 25, 2003, weighing 1 pound, 1 ounce.
Numerous operations, or procedures, followed in Children's Hospital, with Carole Orlansky finally allowed to hold her grandson on Mother's Day, or 106 days after birth.
"It was so overwhelming I just burst into tears," she recalled.
Once, when doctors told the family that Jacob had 24 hours to live due to kidney failure, Orlansky contacted her aunt, Jackie Ridgway of Strasburg, Ohio, and asked her to pray.
Ridgway's Internet efforts resulted in a prayer chain, with the family receiving messages of good wishes and prayers from Nova Scotia, Australia, and throughout the United States.
Jason recovered, and came home for the first time on Oct. 27 hooked to a ventilator and several monitors. Nurses are present most of the day.
Orlansky, manager of the Framesmith in the Lebanon Shops, based the collage on a similar one she saw of Chicago. She came up with the site names from old magazines and newspapers, the Entertainment coupon book, customers at the Framesmith, and her memory of growing up on the North Side.
Nixon Street, where she was born, appears in the collage, as does the North Side's Villa Rosa Restaurant, founded by friends of her grandparents who also emigrated from Villa Rosa, Sicily.
Orlansky, a graduate of the former Ivy School of Professional Art, has sold 30 copies of the 15- by 24-inch image for $100. She will eventually prepare 500 digitally photographed copies, signed and numbered and with certificates of authenticity.
Besides raising money for Jacob's needs, "Jacob's Pittsburgh" is the embodiment of her hope that her grandson will grow healthy and strong and leave his own mark in his hometown.
Doctors are optimistic. His weight has climbed to 15 pounds and he's 24 inches long. His eyesight and hearing are good, although developmentally he's a 2-to 3-month-old. But he laughs, sucks his thumb, and smiles at himself in the mirror, lending hope to his family's dreams for him while casting a new perspective on life in general.
"He's taught us how not to sweat the little stuff," his grandmother said.
To order a collage, stop in or call, 412-341-6760, the Framesmith.
First Published: December 31, 2003, 5:00 a.m.
