An Interview with:

Erica Schwartz

Child Life Specialist
Yale-New Haven Hospital
 Pediatric Specialty Center

Tell me a little about yourself.

I have been a Child Life Specialist here at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital for about 5 years. Child Life Specialist work as part of the comprehensive medical team to help minimize the stress of illness and hospitalizations. Through, play, preparation, education and support, child life specialists promote the emotional well being of families and childeren in the healthcare system. I have always loved working with childrem, but I have found my niche to be pediatric oncology. Every day I am amazed by how strong and resilient these kids are. I am truly lucky to have the opportunity to accompany these kids through their journey with cancer.

 

How long is a typical run of therapy for a child?

There are different phases of treatment, but many of our children come to clinic for three to four years. We really try to make the treatment environment as kid-friendly as possible. We have toys, video games, movies, music, art supplies, visiting artists and clowns. There is a table in the middle of the room that is usually filled with kids playing and hanging out. Many of our children and families build lasting relationships with each other. Although at first overwhelming, eventually kids often do not want to leave clinic because they are having so much fun.

 

How do you help children cope with cancer?

Child Life Specialist  use numerous techniques to help children in the hospital. These are just a few:

Medical Play: Children leran from exploring their environment. We us medical equipment in art activities and play. This lets the children experience and become familiar with medical equipment in a non-threatening way. An example of this is syringe painting; the kids fill the syringes with paint and then squirt a picture.

Procedural Preparation and Support: We can help to lessen the fear of the unknown that surrounds medical procedures by educating kids about procedures in a way developmentally appropriate manner. A great way to educate kids is to let them pretend to be the doctor or nurse. We have specialized dolls that are built so kids can do medical procedures on them. I then go into procedures with the children and help them to utilize positive coping skills.

Expressive Activities: Our kids experience numerous emotions regarding cancer. We strive to provide verbal and non-verbal ways to express their emotions.

School Re-Entry Visits: Kids with cancer may be unable to go to school during periods of their treatment. In order to ease the transition back to school, I do school re-entry visits where I talk to classmates about cancer and what it means to have a peer with cancer. The goal of these visits is to address classmates' concerns and misconceptions and to increase acceptance during the transition back to school

Tommy's Beads of Bravery: The Bravery Bead program, funded by The Tommy Fund, is designed to document and honor the journey children take when they are diagnosed with cancer. When first diagnosed, each child is given a string with just their name on it. Throughout treatment they receive beads that represent different aspects of their medical care. For example, there are beads for radiation, chemotherapy, and hair loss. We have beads that represent over twenty different aspects of medical care. We are very focused on family-centered care and truly believe that illness affects every member of the family. Siblings have a bead just for them and can also make their own necklace to represent the bravery they display in being a sibling of a child with cancer.

Is there any one particular child that tugged at your heartstrings?

All the children tug on my heartstrings. They are all so brave. We ounce had a child who had to have is arm amputated after he relapsed. This child loved to play video games. I wanted to make sure that we set the example that this child could still do everything he loved; he would just need some adaptations. So I did a little research and found a video game controller designed to be used with one hand, but it was very expensive. I decided to go to The Tommy Fund to ask for financial assistance for the controller. Without hesitation they gave me the go ahead to buy it. Unfortunately this child passed away. A controller might seem like a small thing, but because The Tommy Fund's help we were able to buy a controller that helped a child to participate in what he loved for as long as he could.

 

Does this work drain you emotionally?

At times it does. But then there are these moments where you know that you truly made a difference in the life of a child, and that makes it all worthwhile. I wake up each day and realize that I am in a unique position to make the lives of these children a little easier. Every day I have the opportunity to do something important for someone else, and that is a huge honor.

 

Has the Tommy Fund made a difference in your world?

Absolutely! There has never been a time when The Tommy Fund said no to a child in need. If there is a child in need the Tommy Fund has always gone out of its way to find the money somewhere. Without their support, our jobs as professionals and the lives of these children and their families would be far more difficult.