How To Help Them Day To Day

” I always kept a hospital bag packed with special toys. So when we needed to go in the middle of the night we were already packed.”

“Bring toys, pillows, etc. with you – anything and everything that will make you and/or your child more at home in the hospital. I brought Luke’s 2-3 favorite toys with us every time we went to the hospital.”

“We arranged to get our son a recliner for his room at home. We bought him a couple more video games. We were trying to create a very relaxing atmosphere. We played a lot of board/card games together as well.”

“It is very important that the child not be made to feel like “the sick kid”. My son will not go to any functions that draw attention to the fact that he has cancer. He wants to be in with the “normal” crowd.”

“We read early on that these children should be treated as normally as possible.  It seems impossible to do that at the beginning.  The first time I disciplined my cancer patient child for bad behavior I cried thinking what kind of person scolds a child with cancer.  Over time I have seen that he wants to be disciplined, he wants to be treated like a normal kid and that if I let him become spoiled we would have both regretted it.  Even knowing this, it is not always easy.”

“My other children got very tired of everyone asking how their brother is doing.  My daughter told me it makes her feel invisible.  Be sure they are not invisible at home.”

“On clinic days when our daughter’s counts were good we would try to do something special on the way home.  Sometimes we would go walking in the mall or get ice cream; just something to bring some happiness to the day.”

“We literally brought our daughter’s room to the hospital. We purchased a special cart, like the ones you take to the beach, and would fill it with home stuff. Each time we brought her quilt, all of her stuffed animals, her crayons, coloring books, photographs of friends and family, anything to make her room look less hospital and more homey, we even brought her training potty because she was afraid of the noisy hospital toilet! Sometimes it took us three trips to unload the car, but at 3½, it really comforted her to be surrounded by familiar things. We also designated one family member to bring a bouquet of Mylar balloons for each visit — she always looked forward to those and that family member felt like they were doing something important to help out!”