UCSF Children's Hospital patient Kelly Roberts opened the pink striped gift bag and removed the tissue to discover the present inside.
As Roberts opened it, a smile slowly brightened the 11-year-old's face. Her stuffed Build-A-Bear workshop dog Jazzy now had a new jogging suit and a pair of sneakers to match.
"It's just what I wanted," Kelly said while her mother Karen looked on.
It also was just what she needed, says Michael Towne, Coordinator for the Child Life Department at UCSF Children's Hospital. The gift came courtesy of Little Wishes, a nonprofit program that grants the small requests of chronically ill inpatients.
Little Wishes started at UCSF in September 2004, but had been on a three-month-long hiatus. The program grants the small requests of chronically ill inpatients, ranging from an iPod Shuffle for a teen to a fairy costume with wings for a little girl. What the gifts have in common is that they make a difficult time easier for patients and families, as well as for the physicians, nurses and others who care for them.
Towne says that receiving the gifts can help children feel more at ease and connect better to their caregivers.
"One patient wasn't responding to any of our efforts as child-life workers, but when we walked in with her little wish, she immediately started talking about her boyfriend and her family. We've learned that a Little Wish can be a therapeutic tool and a catalyst for intervention," Towne says.
Parents are thrilled to see their child smile for the first time in weeks, and it's good for their caregivers as well, he says.
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| Karen Roberts, left, poses with her daughter Kelly, 11, a patient at UCSF Children's Hospital. Kelly received a new outfit for her stuffed dog through the Little Wishes program. |
"People who work in health care are caring, compassionate people," Towne says. "When they see a child suffering, they want to do something to make them feel better. This program allows us to fill that need in an appropriate way that respects the caregiver-patient relationship."
Child Life Specialist Eve Alley, who coordinates the program, concurs.
"Hospitalization isn't easy for anyone, let alone a child," she says. "They are faced with scary and often painful procedures. They are separated from friends and family and are in a new and often frightening environment. So, being able to walk into a child's hospital room with a little bit of good news is, hopefully, a positive distraction from hospital life for the patients and families."
"Even the littlest gift, a board game, an art kit or a stuffed bunny can bring smiles to faces that are often in the midst of major life challenges. If a Little Wish is successful at making a difference, then we have succeeded."
The Little Wishes program was started by Laura Euphrat and Joanne Davantes, two registered nurses who have taken the program to several local hospitals, though the UCSF program is by far the largest. UCSF Children's Hospital has about 150 inpatient beds, 50 of which are reserved for neonatal patients. To date, the program has granted about 200 wishes, Towne says.
"These children's treatments can often be rigorous, painful and the effects lasting - both physically and mentally," said Euphrat, president of Little Wishes. "The granting of a modest wish greatly eases their pain and serves to improve their spirits and outlook during their hospitalization."
Children who are eligible for the program are identified by nurses, social workers, physicians, child life specialists or any other staff of UCSF Children's Hospital, and then asked to make three little wishes, one of which will be granted. Then, cadres of volunteers go out and shop for the wishes and wrap them, while others deliver them to the hospital. The gifts are presented by a child life specialist, along with the rest of the interdisciplinary team.
Donations to the nonprofit Little Wishes program can be made by contacting Michael Towne, Child Life Department, at 415/353-1203.
Source: Phyllis Brown, News Services
Links:
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Grants Wishes at UCSF Children's Hospital
