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Child Life Specialists Help Hospitalized Kids Cope
But unlike most kids her age, Miranda has bone cancer. She recently had surgery to remove cancerous bone and cancer that had spread to her lungs. She sits in a wheelchair in Children's Hospital, with an IV in her arm and a brightly colored bandanna covering her hair loss. Miranda comes to Children's Hospital regularly for follow-up exams and chemotherapy. Both she and her mother, Wanda Byington, say the Child Life Program has made a vast difference in their lives. "I was really scared at first, but Child Life has made me be not so scared of my chemotherapy," Miranda says. "And I really like the playroom. It's a chance to get away from the doctors." Byington also has praise for the program. "It's helped Miranda cope far, far better and given me peace of mind and confidence. I don't know what I'd do without it. I think it's great." Ah, the sweet sounds of teendom. The beep and squawk of electronic mayhem as a teen triumphs over a menacing robot in "Jedi Battles," a Star Wars video game. Another quite indignant teen brushing off the suggestion he would even glance at another's precious possession. Yet another glopping gooey, no-bake cookies onto a cookie sheet. These teens are not idling away a Saturday morning at home. They are hanging out in the adolescent activity room at Children's Hospital, a hospital within MU's University Hospital in Columbia. This room, and the equally creative pediatric playroom one floor up, are operated by the Child Life Program, a program designed to help young patients and their families cope with hospitalization and illness. The Child Life Program, which is fully funded by the Children's Miracle Network, is staffed by a five specialists who interact with 45 to 55 pediatric and adolescent patients a day. These specialists work closely with children who have diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and asthma. But their services also are available to any child in the hospital. Child life specialists work in tandem with the medical team. Their duties include:
It's a tall order, but child life specialists are dedicated to making sick children's lives easier. The environment they work in certainly helps. Brightly colored murals cover the hallways. The pediatric playroom virtually explodes with arts and crafts supplies, toys, video games, five tightly packed bookshelves and almost every board game ever created. Three times a week, volunteers from MU's College of Veterinary Medicine bring in dogs to visit the children. Do these distractions really help young patients deal with hospitalization? "There's no doubt about it," says Merideth Lehman, coordinator of the Child Life Program. "I've seen quantum changes in children's attitudes. For example, I told one withdrawn child that we had Nintendo 64, and his eyes just lit up." The Child Life Program's stated goal is to meet all of a hospitalized child's psychosocial needs. This goal is accomplished by interacting with children, providing them with age-appropriate activities, talking about their therapies and helping them relax, Lehman says. "Sometimes we blow bubbles or just act silly - anything to distract them and relieve the stress." To help make young patients feel comfortable, Lehman and her team do not dress like doctors or nurses. Their casual, everyday attire helps them build a rapport with the children. "Overall, we try as hard as possible to make the hospital experience fun," says Lehman. "We helped one girl undergoing chemotherapy transform her IV pole into a little girl, complete with face and blown-up latex gloves for hands. Another boy who'd lost his hair wondered if his grandma would like the hair. We sent Grandma his hair. "So much can be happening during a hospitalization that can be scary for children and adolescents - blood draws, an upset family, medication regimens, operations," Lehman adds. "Some kids need to be distracted, and we'll do that. Others like to watch the needle going in or the actual procedure, so we'll talk them through it beforehand. Our hope is that they'll understand why they're in the hospital and get involved in their own care. We want to make the experience as positive and normal as possible." |
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Miranda Smith of Auxvasse is a typical 9-year-old. She's dressed in jeans and a pink top crawling with kittens. She likes to design T-shirts, play with her friends Amanda and Jennifer and spend time with her four horses - Rampage, Shiloh, Midnight and Rosie. She is looking forward to summer camp and playing on her new swingset. 
