Getting the hang of things

Yesterday was my third time volunteering at Children's. There were no complications and everything seemed second nature. I met Sarah in the volunteer office along with a new girl named Hayley. Together, we grabbed the cart and wheeled it over to the waiting room. To my surprise, it was completely empty. There was absolutely no one there! Sarah explained that on days that are sunny, the hospital is much calmer than on rainy days. 

After about half an hour, a wave of people entered the hospital. Most of the kids did not want to play and were satisfied sitting with their parents. Finally, I was able to connect with a few of the children, most of them were patients. One little boy was brought in because he was throwing up. His mom was very open and vented to me about her child's vomiting. I was pleasantly surprised by her openness. By the end, when it was time for him to leave, he was in tears and wanted to stay at the hospital!

Another little girl was a sibling of a patient. She seemed to stay to herself. She did not want to interact with me or play games with other children. I think that siblings, especially young children, tend to feel very out of place at a hospital. They are afraid or do not understand the environment they are in so they stay in their comfort zones: with their parents. 

There was another family who came in with a baby girl whose face was covered in blood. The mom's eyes were bloodshot and had tears streaming down her face. Her other daughter was excited to color with me  and distract herself from the trauma. The mother had a difficult time giving up her child, so she sat with me and helped her daughter stay busy. This family had a very different experience at the hospital than the last. 

All alone...

Today was my second visit to Children's Memorial Hospital. This time ran much more smoothly. I connected with Moira right away and I got right to work. She told me that Sarah was not going to be able to make it because she was out of town, so I was all alone. I thought this would be no problem because two weeks ago, the waiting room was pretty slow. Little did I know that one week does not predict the next. It was insane!!! There were at least fifty kids that I was to keep occupied for the three hours that I volunteered. There was one family, cousins and siblings of a patient, with six kids and two adults to supervise. The parents were completely overwhelmed and stressed about dealing with their child passed out in a wheelchair. I volunteered to help occupy the children and they gratefully accepted my offer. They were very needy for attention, as I tried to occupy dozens of other children. I found that the best way to play with all the kids was to start games that they could all be included in. I introduced different children to one another and they quickly became friends due to their common background of understanding hospitalizations. While these children were of all different ages, they did not care about their differences and were able to relate to one another immediately. They just wanted to be kept occupied and distracted from the frightening experience of being in a hospital. I noticed how needy the children were for attention. The parents probably are always preoccupied with their sick child that they subconsciously neglect to pay the same amount of attention to their other children. It felt incredible to be able to give these children an escape and an outlet for distraction.

After playing with the children, one woman began a conversation with Moira. She commented on how wonderful it was that I was volunteering and how well I got alone with the children. She said that I changed their hospital experience completely and it was such an incredible aspect of the hospital. I realized that I did have a way with children and I loved putting smiles on their faces. 

When I came home, exhausted and ready to rest, I filled my mom in about my day. I told her that I was very clear on how I wanted to spend the rest of my life: working with children. I loved being in the hospital and wanted to be a nurse at Children's; a place that worked wonders for kids. I love playing with kids, but also learning about the medical aspect as well. 

While today was a stressful day filled with tug-o-wars for attention, I felt completely accomplished and self-fulfilled at the end of the day.