A m i d t r u g g l e

Child life specialists use play, dolls, even bubbles to help kids cope with treatments

If only it were that easy, if only a hug, the very real human impulse to protect children from illness and pain, would immediately translate into life-saving action. If only that embrace would give the parents of these little ones a respite right now from the stress that makes a good night’s sleep a seemingly impossible dream.

And when I meet people who work at the center, I feel their empathy for children and their families, and I appreciate the talent, tenacity and patience it takes to realistically help them face the frightening medical conditions that threaten to wipe out their hope.

CHILD

Sue Collins Waltermeyer is a child life specialist at the center, which is run by the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. For the past 30 years in clinics or hospitals, she has helped children and families cope with the challenges of illness with information and guidance tailored for them. Waltermeyer provides age-appropriate preparation for medical procedures through play and self-expression exercises.

On this day, she meets 21-yearold Marisa Velasco and her 4-yearold daughter, Madilyn Cash, in the reception area of the center, a place where no patient is ever turned away from treatment for financial reasons.

Madilyn, bless her heart, was diagnosed with leukemia in February and receives chemotherapy for the blood cancer every 10 days. That therapy, administered through a port implanted in her tiny chest, made her waist length hair fall out in July.

“She doesn’t understand why all this is happening to her,” says

Velasco, smiling as she watches her daughter put yet another new outfit on a doll she’s brought with her. “She just want to have fun like other kids.”

Fun, or as close to it as possible, is what Waltermeyer works to bring Madilyn during the six hours she spends at the clinic receiving chemo