Programs to Empower Kids Living with Chronic Illness
When a child is living with a chronic illness, they become frequent visitors to the hospital. A multitude of emotions often follow – anxiety, worry, or fear.
Kids need vital resources to support their emotional and mental health, so they can navigate the challenges of hospitalization with courage and confidence.
Learn how four-year-old Rosa was empowered to feel safety and comfort.
Meet Rosa
Rosa lives with Crohn’s Disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s affects Rosa’s whole body, requiring her to eat food cautiously. Rosa sometimes has flares, resulting in leg pain, soreness, and stomach discomfort, leading to frequent hospital visits.
Rosa is in much pain during her hospital visits and often feels afraid. Rosa’s mom describes her daughter’s experience:
“She knows she’s there to get help but hates getting IV pain medicine. She feels scared a lot when she’s in the hospital.” - Patricia, Rosa’s mom.
A Sense of Ease and Safety
Anticipating a painful poke can create anxiety and stress in a child. Rosa finds comfort and peace during hospital visits to AdventHealth in Tampa, Florida when she rides the Radio Flyer Starlight Hero Wagon. She loves the wagon so much that it is always the first thing she goes looking for at the hospital. Rosa says, “there’s my wagon!”
Patricia describes the change she sees in Rosa’s emotional and mental state after using the wagon:
“She gets calmer and happier. The staff know to tell her to get the wagon and start her pain medicine – Rosa is always willing to go once they mention the wagon and there are no issues going there. She’ll literally just say 'okay let’s go!'”
Living with a chronic illness creates challenges and difficulties for the family, but they become at ease when Rosa feels safe and comfortable. “What feels important to me is her feeling safe,” says Patricia.
Comfort and Pain Relief
Through the Starlight Families program, Rosa and her family have received multiple Starlight Toy Deliveries including art supplies and holiday gifts.
These programs provide Rosa comfort and emotional support when she has a flare-up at home. Rosa can play, keeping her mind off her pain and giving her a positive distraction.
“Sometimes the medicine doesn’t work, and those things [Starlight programs] can be a pain reliever because it keeps her mind off of it [her pain].”
- Patricia, Rosa's mom
Seeing Rosa’s emotional and mental state improve both in and out of the hospital brings joy to her mom.
“Honestly, I’m so thankful for her to be in this program [the Families program]. The things she’s been sent it makes me happy to know she’s able to keep her mind off of her flare up days.” – Rosa’s mom
Navigating chronic illness can be a challenging and overwhelming experience. Starlight exists to support seriously ill kids, their siblings, and their parents through every step of their journey, in and out of hospital.
More than 40% of children in the US live with at least one chronic illness.
You can make a difference in their lives by supporting them with programs that provide Give positive distraction and comfort so they can face treatments with courage and confidently manage pain.
Donate to Starlight today.
