Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.”
Whether a child is undergoing a procedure or watching a parent or grandparent fight an illness, child life specialists find age-appropriate ways to ease anxiety and help cultivate a safe and loving atmosphere.
“We’re not a billable service, but a needed service,” says Lisa Ciarrocca, systems manager for Child Life at Goryeb. “Parents say all the time that they couldn’t have done it without us.”
More than $125,000 in recent donations speaks louder than words. First, the Vanech family donated funds to hire a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit child life specialist. They had found the child life team indispensible during son Nicky’s hospitalizations as a young child. But they were surprised and pleased on a more recent trip to the Emergency Department to find child life specialists are fantastic with teens, too.
The Women’s Association of Morristown Medical Center donated proceeds from their recent Royal Watch event, which celebrated Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage while raising money for a good cause. And a fundraising event sponsored by Jack Bradley, in honor of his late wife Kelley, added more than $24,000. Mr. Bradley’s children – 7-year-old Max, 5-year-old Luke and 3-year-old Emma – had spent many hours with Crystal Zelman, a child life specialist, clinical social worker and play therapist. She reminded him that, at stressful times, “it’s very important for children to feel in control, to be able to make their own choices and be listened to."
Pictured: Child Life Specialist Jamie Gecz with Christopher Mitsoulis and therapy dog Jenna McEntee