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  • As An Adult Patient Have You Ever Received Special Treatment?

    Posted by Colleen on February 19, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    I think the thought of sick children tugs at the hearts of most people. To make their hospital experiences a little less stressful and bring some joy to their long days, hospitals will often offer special visitors and entertainment.

    As a parent of a child who had PH I loved the happy moments my son experienced during some of his hospital admissions. He has been visited by professional football players, therapy dogs, artists, clowns, etc.. One day he even got to meet the famous retired baseball star, Willie Mays.

    Meeting Willie Mays had me thinking about the adults that would have loved to meet him. If opportunities like that aren’t offered to adult patients, especially those who have been in the hospital for a long time…well, they should be.

    The mental health of adult patients should also be considered and if there must be opportunities to offer happy moments to them as well. Have you enjoyed a special visitor or treatment of some sort an adult patient in the hospital? Share the experience with us. If you don’t have any experiences to share, are there opportunities you wish would be available to you as an adult patient?

    v-r-peterson replied 4 years, 1 month ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • v-r-peterson

    Member
    February 20, 2020 at 2:00 pm

    When my son was hospitalized for his first right heart cath (and then admitted when it showed PH, and they had to keep him until the insurance approved Remodulin SQ and they got the dose just right before they could remove the right heart cath from his neck), they brought in some therapy dogs. The handlers almost passed his room by when they saw the oxygen and all the tubes and monitors hooked up to him. However, when my son called the dogs in, the handlers couldn’t do anything but follow their dogs. That did a world of good for him. The nurses also decided to “adopt” him, and they would have parties in his room. It brought tears to my eyes when he told my hubs and me about the time they bought a huge pizza for him from a nearby pizzeria and played cards with him into the night. It’s the little things like this that made his almost month-long stay more bearable.

    My husband and I would reciprocate by bringing in donuts for all the nurses.

  • Colleen

    Member
    February 20, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    @mamabear007 the therapy dog experience and the special bond that your son developed with his nurses brought tears to my eyes. I can relate to both and know how important those moments were during difficult times. I love that your brought donuts to those special nurses. They become like family, don’t they?

    Another memory that is a favorite of mine was when a young male hospital volunteer (probably high school age) knocked on my son’s door. There were no words spoken. He simply lifted a gaming remote in the air as a question and my son’s face lit up in answer. They spent hours gaming with no conversation. Apparently the young man had experience of his own spending long stretches in the hospital and knew that what Cullen was in great need of was an opportunity to just act like a kid and escape his reality. It was such a simple gesture but so special.

  • v-r-peterson

    Member
    February 21, 2020 at 9:50 am

    Oh @colleensteele, I love what this nurse did for your son! A caring nurse really can affect a patient (adult or child) for a lifetime. I’ll bet that’s something Cullen will always remember.

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