The Catalyst Issue 13 | Winter/Spring 2012

Making the Rounds continued “I love being able to make it a little bit easier for a patient to be here and see the progress he or she makes.” —Leah Woodward A large part of Ms. Woodward’s day is spent explaining to children what will happen next in their medical care. Preparing the patient often makes it easier when the actual procedure happens, and is linked to better health outcomes in research studies. “We pick our language very carefully. For example, CT scans are often called ‘cat scans.’ But children are very literal, so that may bring up images of the animal. The child life specialist’s job is to alleviate any misconceptions by providing ageappropriate information. So in this case, we might say, ‘You’re going to have some special pictures taken, but there’s not really a cat,’” she says. Child life specialists use dolls and teddy bears to physically model the steps that will happen before the child goes into surgery or for testing. Then, they try to share some coping skills, like deep breathing, with a child to help him or her relax during the procedure. Alexandria Borgas, age nine, had been admitted to the hospital in the middle of the night because she had severe abdominal pain that was preventing her from eating. Ms. Woodward brought a cloth doll to Alexandria so she could learn more about the IV that caregivers placed in her arm that administered vital nutrition to the little girl. Ms. Woodward even let her “try” giving one to her doll. Alexandria looked at her own arm to check the spot before applying the sterilizing solution to the inner elbow of the toy. “Now we take a deep breath…” the child life specialist says as she helps Alexandria guide the IV into the doll’s arm and retract the starter needle. You will never find Child Life Department services on our hospital bill, which makes philanthropic support so important. Monetary gifts, as well as in-kind donations, are most welcome! Child Life Playroom Wish List: » Electronic tablets » Light-up plastic toys » Crayons, paints, markers » Coloring books » Video games » Hard plastic toys that can be disinfected often » Matchbox cars Visit swcatalyst.org to see heartwarming photos and to learn about the Bud E. Bear program at McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White. 18 The Catalyst Winter/Spring 12 | sw.org “Sometimes it helps to look away,” Ms. Woodward says. “Did you look away when they gave you your IV?” “Yes,” Alexandria says. She then taped the doll’s IV line extra securely. “It hurts when it wiggles,” she says. Ms. Woodward would return later in the afternoon, to explain to Alexandria and her mom about other tests the doctors might order. Passing the baton Ms. Woodward decided to pursue child life as a career while volunteering at Scott & White Memorial Hospital Temple as a teenager. She planned her own college education around it, and completed an internship at the hospital. “I love being able to make it a little bit easier for a patient to be here and see the progress he or she makes,” she says. Most child life specialists have degrees in child development, psychology, or sociology. Then they complete a postgraduate internship and pass a national certification test. Ashley Neujahr, 18, was waiting with her dad to be discharged. She and Ms. Woodward know each other well. Ashley comes in for monthly chemotherapy and stays overnight. She’d brought along her hot pink zebra-striped blanket, pink iPad,

The Catalyst Issue 13 | Winter/Spring 2012 | Page 18