Let's Talk About Work

I had a presentation to give last Tuesday. I'm usually not very good at speeches and presentations, but this time everything went well. I had all my notes in order, i did not have a case of the jitters, my stomach was not doing flip flops and my coffee seemed to kick in on time. Everything seemed just to be calm. I presented for the Pain Team and a few other staff members at the hospital the case for Child Life - the benefits, work and role thereof. The presentation lasted about an hour between myself and the few other people who spoke. But enough about that for now.

The hospital is roller coaster. I have had a few days where everything seems to go well, i like my job, my patients are interactive and positive and I feel i have done my job to the best of my ability. There are other days where I do not want to be in the hospital, my patients do not want to interact, they are frustrated and do not respond to any interventions. These days I try to keep positive, but that is sometimes difficult.

I have worked with one patient for the past 4 months. He is a preteen oncology patient, frustrated by his long-term stay in the hospital and constant battle both physically and emotionally. Nearly every side-effect of  chemotherapy has affected him and so most of the time after treatment he has no energy, feels sick, has a sore mouth and can't talk. He spends several days after chemo simply laying in bed and unwilling to interact. After treatment the other day he was sore, but still wanted to play. His energy was low, but I could tell he was bored. Even tho he was tired and weak he still wanted to do something with his time. The kids on this ward spend so much time stuck in their beds due to their drips.It's like a double punishment - having to be in the hospital for an extended period of time and not allowed to get up and go play. I try to make life as  normal as possible, but sometimes it feels like trying to move mountains.

Another patient I see regularly is just over 3 years and has been in the hospital for nearly a year and a half. Not just in and out of hospital, but actually staying in the hospital for that long. She is in isolation and has not been able to play with other children in far too long. On top of that her family life is complicated, her mom and granny stay with her most of the time at the hospital, but the child/parent relationship is fairly unhealthy. She recently has shown signs of aggression and anger. Although this is an improvement from when I met her and she had anxiety with every person who was in her room. She now interacts freely with nurses, specialists and doctors who see her, but shows hostility when they do something she does not like. She and I spend a lot of time with medical play and trying to get mom to interact more in play. Because her mom has been somewhat distant towards her daughter, it has created an unstable attachment between them. Sometimes the girl wants her mom to be around, but then other times hits her mom to motion her to leave. On top of everything else, mom does not speak or understand any English and my Afrikaans is certainly lacking, so unfortunately, our communication is very little.

For the past 3 weeks, there has been a group of Child Life students from Ohio at the hospital. It has been good to have them around, a new type of work for me also. It has been a good experience to learn how to work along side peers and simultaneously be a "go to" person when questions arise. This week is their last week. The crazy thing is that everyone goes on holiday here at Christmas time.

The hospital does not schedule any surgeries, kids that are well enough to be discharged are and everyone leaves. Both my supervisors will be gone for my last month. It's nothing like at home where life pretty much just stays the same and keeps rolling through the holidays. The good news is that several of my kiddos have been discharged already or will be discharged before Christmas/New Years.

Speaking of New Year... i'm not ready for it. I'm just not ready to leave this beautiful country yet. This next month is going to be amazing. The weather just gets better and i can soak up as much sun as possible before heading to wintery coldness of the midwest next year :)