CHEO Champion grateful to CHEO
A hospital stay is never fun and games, then again, a stay at CHEO can still include a little playfulness, explains patient representative Annie Underhill.
As a tertiary level pediatric facility, CHEO prides itself in delivering top-notch care from the littlest preemies to the tallest 18 year olds. It also prides itself in providing a child-friendly environment, one that takes the whole child’s physical and mental well-being at heart — and that includes adding a few perks to make the entire hospital experience more pleasant.
I was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of four. I had been lethargic, falling asleep in kindergarten and developing various skin rashes. When my symptoms worsened, my parents took me to CHEO and I was admitted that same night.
My parents were wowed by the care I received but also by the manner in which I was cared for. “The medical staff at CHEO saved our daughter’s life,” says my mom, Kim. “Their expertise was evident. Yet, what stays with me is the manner in which they cared for Annie. They were joyful in their interactions with us. They had a flair for fun and feted children. This allowed my daughter to let her imagination run wild, as any healthy child’s does.”
I can only agree! When I got nervous and used my doll to “talk for me,” the staff actually listened and treated my doll like a real patient, creating the perfect setting for comforting conversations and role play to put me at ease.
When I had to be in isolation and couldn’t leave my hospital room, a nurse involved me in the planning for her upcoming wedding. It allowed me to dream about my own future and I received the veil as a memento. When the days felt long, I had tea parties and clowned around with Mollypenny, CHEO’s therapeutic clown. And when my spirit would flail, a cherished oncologist would ask her medical students to dress up in their finest clothes for their rounds in my honour because even at that young age, I was a budding fashionista. And the day I ran out of pretty dresses to wear, that amazing doctor brought one in for me.
And when in a twist of fate 10 years to the day of my cancer diagnosis I was diagnosed with Shulman’s syndrome (Eosinophilic fasciitis), a rare disease that leads to inflammation and thickening of the skin and fascia. I was struck and a little shaken. But, I told myself “I beat cancer, so I can beat this too.”
Since then, each time I have to undergo medical scans — which I am no fan of — the staff offers me special cinemavision goggles that allow me to watch a favourite movie or a television show so that I am distracted and remain calm and don’t need anesthesia to help me remain immobile for the time it takes to complete the scans.
Now, even the hospital corridors have been painted with colourful paint and many patients’ units have been refurbished and offer brighter surroundings to help patients heal. Playrooms and a teen lounge ensure that there is something to do at all times. There is also pet therapy, art therapy and school to keep you abreast in your studies. This can be a surprisingly welcomed distraction, as are the little things that the CHEO staff does to brighten a patient’s day: making a smiley face on your pancake, handing out fun stickers, and providing books and movies and board games to fill the time in between treatments.
You see, being ill is bittersweet. It is the biggest, most challenging, thing you will ever face but it also lets you see very clearly who you care about and who truly cares about you. For me, it confirmed how much my sister Laura, my parents, grandparents and friends mean to me.
I also developed a deeper appreciation for what others have done to help me get through these travails and to make the hospital such a positive, fun and uplifting place that lets kids be kids and teens be teenagers. From the stickers to the goggles, to the colourful environment to the friendly, joyful staff … I tell people that CHEO lets kids have a real childhood even though we’re faced with big people problems.
What I take away from my time at CHEO is that it takes incredible people to save lives as they do, and it takes incredible people to create an environment that fosters healing yet allows children and teens like me the opportunity to laugh and play despite facing very difficult times. As they say at CHEO: kids should be kids … not patients!