Essay: Harper Essay: Dale
ESSAY: HARPER DALE SPREADING SUNSHINE
Over 10% of children worldwide are diagnosed with a terminal illness, which is around seven million children. These children live very different childhoods than the majority of children. After diagnosis, these children will go through countless hospital visits, doctor’s appointments, and excruciating pain, which does not allow many to attend school with other children their age. In addition, the hospital is “home” for thousands of children living with terminal illnesses. Therefore, these children spend most of their lives around adults (doctors and family) and do not get to be around children their age, often causing them to feel isolated and alone. When children have an illness so severe to warrant their confinement to a hospital for long periods at a time, “many children report feeling lonely and scared,” as they are taken from the safe, familiar environment of their home and forced to live in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable place which serves as their “new home” (“Coping with Stress Reactions after Injury or Illness”). Additionally, many children can be traumatized by hospital stays. Studies show that 20-25% of children admitted to the hospital after sustaining an illness that causes them to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, “the impact of hospitalization can linger with children long after their discharge,” which causes even greater anxiety for children with terminal illnesses who are constantly in and out of hospitals (Maps). But, children are not the only ones coping with stress reactions; parents are also struggling. Parents feel helpless watching their child in excruciating pain, unable to help them, with recurring hospital stays, parents and children fear what will happen next, ultimately fearing death. Thankfully, many programs help children feel less isolated from their community. InvisiYouth allows teens and young adults worldwide struggling with chronic illnesses with lifestyle programs, empowering and supporting them through fun activities. Virtually, Band-Aides and Blackboards help children interact with others in a similar situation. Additionally, there are many programs to help parents cope with stress reactions. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) and After The Injury helps parents understand their child’s responses to an illness and advise how to react and help their child. CopingSpace provides information to help parents cope and understand their child’s condition (“Coping with Stress Reactions after Injury or Illness”). Over the summer, I started volunteering at Spreading Sunshine, a non-profit which focuses on bringing joy to terminally ill kids and their families. The organization has an outsized positive impact with a micro-sized budget: it provides impaired, isolated, suffering kids with attention, concern, and a little fun. Spreading Sunshine also significantly impacts parents of children with chronic illnesses. For example, Spreading Sunshine created a Facebook group for all mothers of children with terminal illnesses, which allows these mothers to ask questions and make friends with women in similar situations. This platform will enable families of children with terminal
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