What is child life?
Well, according to the Child Life Council, specialists who work in this field are "trained professionals with expertise in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events."
At Duke we have an entire department of people who are dedicated to helping children and their families cope with their hospitalizations and/or with difficult outpatient procedures. The people I've met who work in this area are incredibly talented individuals who somehow manage to make things less scary, less painful, and less confusing for our patients. Their work includes distracting patients who are undergoing procedures to providing companionship or a playmate for a patient whose family cannot be with them at all times.
The children on our wards here in Nicaragua have no such thing. Not only do they share a room with up to nine other patients, but they also have to endure painful procedures without anesthesia and having to watch other children undergo similarly terrible procedures. We have one television for them to share but for the most part they are BORED.
With only three patients on service today I was bored too. Enter flag making!!! We made flags out of prescription pads, tape and pens and had a great time decorating them and parading around the room. I'm bringing some crayons tomorrow so they should get a bit prettier :)
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