Halloween 2014 Recap

Was it just me or did it feel like Halloween lasted for about two weeks this year? Maybe it's because I went to a costume party a week before Halloween, or maybe it's because there's been candy in the store for about a month.

This year was fun nevertheless. Sal's friend, Jimmy, was planning on throwing a party the weekend before Halloween, being that he was in his new house, yes... you guessed it, the one by the lake. He had some of his friends decorate, got a bunch of drinks, and decided to order pizza and subs for everyone. It wasn't a requirement to dress up, but it just made it more fun. After work, Sal and I headed up there with my brother and his girlfriend, both were home from college. We were all dressed to perfection. Sal was Clark Kent, my brother was a doctor, and Michele was a football player. They were all cute costumes, most of which were put together with clothes they already had. For my costume, I decided to reuse an old costume. Sal and I buy a new costume every year and twice we had no where to go to wear them to... I know, sad story. Anyways, one year Sal and I bought Top Gun costumes; his being more of a flight suit, and mine a dress. I tried mine on, and it didn't fit my shoulders, which just shows you how much kickboxing has positively affected me, and how much muscle I've gained. So I decided to wear Sal's Top Gun flight suit, but I wasn't going to just be Maverick or Goose... oh no... I was going to be one of our friends, Mike, who is currently in Oklahoma in the Air Force. He wasn't going to be at the party, so I figured I'd be him! It turned out that one of our other friends decided to be Jimmy. The two, Jimmy and Mike, are best friends, so it was absolutely hysterical. We even had Jimmy's mom calling him upset that she didn't know Mike was home. I have to say that we were picture perfect. 

The night drifted on by as we kept the party alive - bonfire, beer, good friends, and music played by two awesome guitarists. 

We headed back home before it was too late for us grandmas and grandpas, because some people (like me) have to work on the weekend. When I was home, I felt as if Halloween was done and over with, and like another year had passed, but we still had a week until the real day!

I didn't have any plans for October 31st, and I had to work at the hospital all day, but it was so so worth it. The other Child Life Specialists and myself decided we wanted to dress up together, so we chose to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even though there were only three of us. We bought the shirts, chose to wear black leggings, and I added long green socks, from my soccer days, and a purple tutu to match my mask. We wanted costumes that we could get away with if something serious was to happen at the hospital (a new diagnosis of something or a serious accident). 

We were at the hospital bright and early with a mission to make the day fun for the children, to get them to laugh, and not care if they were missing trick or treating with their friends. We do reverse trick or treating, giving nurses, who were also dressed up, bags of goodies (Halloween related and not) like playdoh, vampire teeth, shirts/socks, coloring books, toys, and more, to pass out to the children. They'd knock on their doors, yelling "Trick or Treat!" The children would be in the room, waiting, with their bags open wide and huge smiles on their faces. It turned out to be a huge hit once again, and we surprised the children, and their families with cupcakes decorated just for the occasion! Project Sunshine from a college nearby joined us for the party and had crafts available for the children, their siblings, and families to do in the playroom. 

It was such a great day, and I'm pretty sure no one was upset that they missed Halloween outside of the hospital, at least not too much. 

So now you can understand why I thought Halloween was much longer than it was, but how it might've been the best Halloween yet. Hope all of you had a wonderful Halloween! 

Year 1 of Being a CCLS

When I first applied for Child Life Specialist positions, I was always asked that same question... "Why do you want to become a CCLS?" Not only did I hear this during interviews, but I heard it when I spoke to family members... all they wanted to know was why? What was my inspiration for becoming a CCLS? Well, since you're probably also wondering why, I'll tell you. I've always known that I wanted to work with children, I have such a strong passion for child development and psychology, that I never second guessed the age of the population I wanted to work with. A few years back, while I was in my sophomore/junior year of college, I was working as a teacher's aid in a preschool. While I loved it, I noticed that I would spend more time thinking about other ways that I could help children. Now I know teacher's are extremely important in a child's life, but I wanted to help children in a different aspect. I wanted to be that someone in their life, in a different environment. I researched for what felt like forever, for other occupations. I eventually changed my major from education to psychology, but that still didn't feel right. That's when I discovered child life. That's when I knew. I changed my major once more (three times is good luck right?) and I signed up to volunteer under the supervision of a CCLS in a children's hospital.

I quickly fell in love, not just with the profession, or with the feeling I left the hospital with, but with the smile on the children's faces, and their resilience shining so bright even when they weren't feeling their best. I eventually moved on to my internship, and that only made me more positive that this was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I make the hospital experience a little less traumatizing and frightening, and a little more therapeutic and fun. I prepare children for medical procedures using pictures, videos, dolls and simpler explanations, I educate them on a new diagnosis, I distract them during procedures, and I provide support for the family. There's also a playroom that helps the child just be exactly that... a child! Play is extremely important for any child, especially when they're in the hospital.

It took me a year after graduation to land a position as a CCLS. Some people say that's pretty good, and I have to agree. I had a year to focus on me, and figure out exactly where I wanted to work, and search high and low for jobs, all the while boosting my resume in any way I could. Turns out, I had two offers in two completely different settings - one in a children's hospital, and another in a medical day care center. Once I figured out what was going to work better for me financially, I attended orientation, and before I knew it I was a working CCLS.

Since then I have met hundreds of children, and families. I have guided them through their hospital experience in more ways than one, and I have learned more things in my first year than I ever thought possible. Each individual child is unique and different. What works for one child, may not work for another; what works for one family, may not work for the one down the hall. Sure I've had my fair share of failed interventions, but I've also had extremely rewarding moments - when a patient picks up on the guided imagery I am providing while they're getting their IV, and imagines they're on a beach, with the dolphins jumping in and out of the water, when a family calls for you specifically to help distract their child during a medical procedure, when you explain a diagnosis and you see the child understand - it's as if a lightbulb goes off in their head, when a child you've been working with, feels good enough to bust out dance moves in the playroom during Zumba, when a family finds out good news and they come back and visit to share, when a child calls your name down the hospital hallways and wants a hug. It's so much more rewarding than upsetting or depressing.

In my first few months there, I was rewarded by the nurse managers for going 'above and beyond,' as the months went by, I held a Child Life Refreshment Refresher for our nurses to make sure they understand what we do, I presented at our very own Child Life Conference, I started Movie Night Mondays, we've created a brochure so that more families know who we are, and I have networked with a great amount of professionals, just to name a few.

No one can quite understand why I do what I do, even after I explain it to them, but they haven't
walked the hallways of a pediatric unit... they don't understand how resilient these children are - they don't give up, and they're stronger than most people I know as an adult. I am a Child Life Specialist because these kids need me. Here's to another year as a CCLS!

Nursing Team Day Celebration - Partners in Care

If you asked me if I thought my job as a child life specialist is beneficial to not only the children who are hospitalized, but also the nurses who I work alongside, I would immediately respond - yes, of course! Though it has been a constant struggle to get nurses, let alone the general population, to truly believe that child life specialists help a child during their hospitalization, not only just for their toys and playroom, it continually gets better each and every day - and for that I am proud.

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated nurse's week at the hospital that I work at. We made sure we had raffles every day to give notice to at least one of the nurses, had patients and families fill out 'how their nurse helps them' slips, eventually hanging them up for all to see, and we ended the week with a huge luncheon. Child life specialists were invited to a nursing team day celebration, and we were told that we were nominated for the partners in care award - an award that signifies how helpful a healthcare professional has been to the nurses. We went down to the celebration, dressed in our best clothes and heels (definitely not something we wear on a daily basis). We entered in raffles, and enjoyed taking pictures with each other. As the awards were announced, I was in awe watching each and every individual go up to receive their award, especially one of our own pediatric nurses who has been there for 30+ years, and was noticed for her amazing leadership achievements. I was proud, and excited for our category to be called. We all became nervous when a similar category was announced and we did not receive the award. We kept listening, and upon hearing our Child Life Program being recognized, it all became a blur. I began shaking out of excitement, and nervousness as we walked up to be recognized. The lady who had announced us was speaking great things about our program, but I barely heard her as I was hugging and being congratulated by our pediatric nurses, and eventually those who are higher up.

We took pictures, and held up our glass award. It felt incredible to be recognized. Little by little more and more individuals are understanding what it is we do as child life specialists. It's one thing for people outside of the hospital to know what you do, and a completely different thing when those who are not around us in the hospital truly understand the benefits of child life. Our nurse managers handed us flowers, and congratulated us, laughing while they did it. I didn't understand why, until I heard that they knew the entire time that we had won. While we were told we were only nominated, the nursing staff was told we won. They had kept a secret, which is quite difficult to do when you work with many, many women.

After our nerves dissipated, we were finally able to eat, but we couldn't shake the excitement. The rest of the day we stopped everyone we knew just to tell them that our program had won. We did it.

The Beautiful Struggle

It's honestly a struggle for me to wake up and go to work sometimes, but not because of the usual reasons that people can't get out of their beds to head to work. I, for one, absolutely love my job. Of course, I have days that aren't as great as the days before, but I keep persevering and hope one day everyone knows, and understands, what I do. {side note: I'm a Child Life Specialist: I am a trained professional who helps children and their families understand the hospital environment and diagnosis through education, therapeutic intervention, and play.}

The reason why it has become a struggle is because of the drive. In the almost 6 years that Sal and I have been dating, Sal is more likely than not always the driver. If I can, I choose not to drive. I'm not sure why, or when this started, but I don't like being the driver in the car for more than a 5 minute drive. Is it just me, or do you wish you could blink and arrive at any given destination that you please? What's even more strange is that I absolutely love traveling, and exploring new places, as long as I'm not the one in the driver's seat. This drive to work isn't just down the street... it's about a fifty minute drive, which qualifies as long in my book, especially with my gas guzzler of a SUV. Fifty minutes is a long time to sit there thinking, and singing the same ten songs on country radio (NASH FM, please play a better variety). So by the end of the day, when I finally pull up to my house, I worked an eight and half hour shift, and drove two hours. It's no wonder that I have no energy to go out with friends.

Of course there are mornings when the sun is shining so brightly, there isn't any traffic on the road, and the ride seems to go faster than normal. Then there are the mornings when I sit in traffic, and wind up being late to work... these are the mornings that I watch the clouds fly by, the sun rise slowly into the sky, and I realize I'm luckier than most. Instead of complaining about my drive, I try to look at the positive things in my life, no matter how small those positives are. I begin letting my wind wander to the day I will have once I arrive at the hospital - hopefully better than the last. It's easy to sit there and beep at drivers that should probably go back and retake their driving test, to raise your blood pressure, and be angry at the world, but sometimes these things are uncontrollable. I always focus on my breathing, and breath as deeply as I can during my ride. Yoga has taught me this, and I'm so grateful that I have been able to bring this to all aspects of my life.

Life is beautiful, despite days that are filled with struggles.

I'm a Child Life Specialist

Part of the reason I stopped writing was because life just got too busy. I graduated May of 2012 and since then had been applying to every hospital in a 1-2 hour driving range. I was determined to get a job doing something with the degree I had graduated with, and the certificate I had earned. It was until May of 2013 when I finally received the phone call that I had been waiting for. I was offered a job at an incredible children's hospital as their new CCLS, or Certified Child Life Specialist, on the pediatric floor. I was beyond excited to have gotten my dream job. Prior to graduation though, I hadn't even known that this was my dream. I was getting my degree to teach, until I realized I didn't want to be a teacher anymore, I wanted to help children in more ways than a teacher. I wanted to use psychology more often than the curriculum. So I began searching online for other careers, and that's when I made the switch to psychology, and then eventually child life. While my boyfriend made fun of me for constantly changing majors and being as indecisive with this as I am when it comes to picking out what I want for dinner. It becomes real though when you're in college, and you need to make sure you're getting the most out of your time there, doing something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

Becoming a child life specialist wasn't easy - I had to volunteer, complete specific courses, and then complete an internship. After graduating, I learned that getting a job wouldn't be any easier either, but I was determined, and when I'm determined, nothing and no one can stop me. I went into each interview with confidence and my knowledge and experience to back me up. I wasn't worried when I went on interviews and didn't get calls back though, because I knew those jobs hadn't been meant for me then. I was content and persevered. Meanwhile, I focused on my health and fitness, which only made me that much more confident when I headed in for interviews.

When I finally did get that call I was ecstatic and knew that all of my hard work had finally paid off. Here I am two months later, and I still go into work with a smile on my face every day. Of course, I come across challenging days, but I work past them with the support of my incredible coworkers and my family, boyfriend, and friends. The only constant challenge I've come across almost every day is explaining what is is that I do. Child life is not a widely known profession, as there are only, roughly, 5,000 of us out there right now. We can be found in hospitals, mainly, but we've also found our way into dentist and doctor's  offices, funeral homes, and even military hospitals, just to name a few. We are there to help children understand what's happening to them or those around them in a developmentally appropriate way. Specifically for me in the hospital, I make sure the hospital is a more child-friendly environment, with the help of education, therapeutic interventions, and, of course, play. I provide normalizing activities for children in the playroom, educate them about their diagnosis or an upcoming procedure, and distract them during those medical procedures. I am also there to listen to the families of the patient's and provide them with some type of comfort. I'm always learning new ways to help children, but I've learned that even if a child cries, it's OKAY. It doesn't mean that my intervention didn't help, it just means that the child is expressing him/herself in a more than appropriate way. Children are scared when they enter the hospital, I'm there to make it a little less frightening.

Once I tell people that, they always look sad, and ask me how I deal with working with sick children all the time... but I promise you it's so much more rewarding, and honestly, you can't even tell some of these kids are sick, especially when they see the playroom! They're just kids when I look at them, just kids that want to play.