Putting Kids’ Fears to Rest

It wasn’t exactly the summer vacation I planned before heading into fifth grade. A medical procedure revealed that I needed surgery, and I’d be in the hospital a few days. Of course, I was scared to death.

As a kid, I didn’t know much about surgery, but I did know the basics: people wearing masks cut you open. That’s exactly how I pictured it. A bunch of people would surround me, put me to sleep, and then cut into me.

Nothing really prepares a kid for that first trip to the hospital. The sights, sounds, and smells are all new, and in my case, I associated them all with surgery. What was that beep in the hallway? Why is that guy wearing a blue gown in the cafeteria? And, of course, there was the unknown. Would I feel anything? Will I wake up during surgery? How long would I be away from my family?

During my first trip to Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, I had most of these questions answered by a specialist in the Child Life Program. I remember thinking how much better I felt when she explained what surgery was, and how it wasn’t going to be the horror show I envisioned. We played games, talked about my procedure, and I soon felt comfortable in a place I previously dreaded.

A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer brought back these memories and others from my hospital experience. The article details the Child Life, Education, and Creative Arts unit at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and how young patients come to terms with their own treatments by acting out medical procedures on dolls.

One study cited by the Inquirer article shows that child life programs make a calculable difference. Among 100 hospitalized preschoolers in the 1998 study, blood pressure and pulse rates were lower in children who participated in puppet shows about their surgeries.

Although I don’t have a record of my blood pressure from my hospital stay, I’d guess it was much lower because of my child life specialist. By translating the “unkown” into something I understood, she helped put my fears to rest. The same story unfolds every day at hospitals across the country, helping kids realize that it’s not going to be as bad as they think.