Hospital patients feel Christmas spirit

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP):

A nativity scene? Santa Claus? Christmas carols? All there - among the IVs, monitors and bed pans of the hospital.

For patients stuck in the hospital for Christmas, missing the traditions and trappings of the holiday season can make illness and injury even more painful. So the hospital staff, with help from donors in the community, find ways to bring holiday cheer to patient rooms.

"You would think the hospital would be a very hard place for someone to be at the holidays," says Jodi Bauers, child-life manager at DeVos Children's Hospital. "But it's a time when the hospital feels most energised because there are so many different things and events.

"The vast majority of kids and families are totally open to celebrating, even in the midst of tragedy."

At the children's hospital, young patients pick out presents for themselves and their families at a Santa store - where donated gifts are provided at no charge.

Presents delivered in the night

On Christmas morning, the children wake up to find presents were delivered to their rooms during the night. Babies in the neonatal unit might get a blanket; older children get a bag of toys, games or other age-appropriate gifts.

"We probably pack 200 Christmas bags, but we hope we need only 100," Bauers says.

Children are not the only ones who need a little extra attention at the holidays. Even grown-up patients are saddened to miss family rituals and well-loved traditions of the season, says Jennifer Chaffer, social work coordinator at Saint Mary's Health Care.

And if they are parents of young children, they often suffer a double whammy.

"There's a huge guilt factor," Chaffer says. "They feel very much like they're neglecting their responsibilities as a parent. They're letting their kids down, letting their partner down - which is not what you need when you're trying to get better."

The staff helps patients find creative ways to adapt traditions to a hospital setting. They encourage them to decorate their rooms and hold small celebrations at the hospital.

On the ninth floor of Saint Mary's, Anne Slocum recently planned Christmas for her family while hooked up to an IV and a monitor tracking contractions in her belly.

Slocum, who is more than 27 weeks pregnant, said when she learned she had to stay in the hospital on bed rest until her baby was born, "It was pretty devastating."

Knowing she would miss Christmas and New Year's traditions - as well as her baby shower - was tough, said Slocum, a Hastings resident who was admitted to the hospital December 6.

But she has tried to adjust her plans. Her 6-year-old daughter, Gloriana, her fiancé, Shannon Elston, and other family members will bring dinner and presents to the hospital Christmas Day, so they can celebrate together.

In the meantime, hospital staff provided coloured paper and decorations so Slocum could prepare scrapbook pages for her unborn son.

"I'm feeling a lot better now," she said, three days into bed rest. "I'm trying to teach my daughter Christmas isn't just about presents. It's about God. It's his birthday."

At Metro Health's Assisted Breathing Center, Lee Homminga prepares to spend her second Christmas in the hospital. Homminga, 53, of Essexville, says she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and has been in the unit for ventilator-dependent patients for a little more than a year.

To pass the time, she says, "I do my crafts." The bed next to hers is covered with necklaces, earrings and bracelets she made.

For the holidays, she learned to make holiday crafts in an art class. Beside her bed is a Christmas tree made of Styrofoam balls and toothpicks. Her tray is covered with pins she is making from Christmas card pictures and tissue paper.

"I'll probably give them away," she says.

Keeping in mind that not everyone celebrates Christmas, hospital staff members say they help patients celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and their own faith traditions.

And they are mindful that some people are not in the mood for any kind of celebration. With patients in an acute crisis, Chaffer lets family members take the lead on how to react.

Cherished traditions

Although some are eager to talk about cherished traditions, others are too preoccupied with a loved one's illness to notice the holiday, and they don't want to be reminded of it. Because patients have such a range of reactions, Saint Mary's staff members don't wear Santa scrubs or decorative sweaters.

"If they want holiday stuff, then by golly, we'll help them do that," Chaffer says. "But if they don't want to think about it, we can shield them from that, too."

For families coping with a serious illness or caring for a loved one who is terminally ill, hospice staff at Spectrum Health hosts an open house the week before Christmas. Family members eat cookies, drink hot chocolate, decorate ornaments with their children and receive massages while a harpist plays holiday music.

The first gathering was hosted three years ago at Butterworth Hospital, says Lisa VanderWel, a former social worker who is now director of business development. It was so well received, it has continued every year and a similar event is planned at Blodgett this year.

"We've had over 100 people each year come up," she says. "And it's been exactly the kinds of folks I was hoping to attract."

Inspiration

Guests have included a family camped out all week at the hospital to care for a mother who underwent surgery for a brain tumor, a family whose loved one is in intensive care, and the parents of a "preemie."

"I hope it's what the holidays are meant to be, caring for each other, giving to each other, supporting each other," VanderWel says.

The holiday season inspires many donors and well-wishers in the community to reach out to patients in the hospital.

Carolers and musicians perform, volunteers bring therapy pets to visit patients, Santa visits patients, and toys are donated for children.

At Sacred Heart of Jesus School on Grand Rapids' West Side, children in first through fourth grade make cards for patients at Saint Mary's.

"Deck the Halls" plays in the background as 9-year-old Christopher Meier colours in a drawing of a Christmas tree.

Making the cards is fun, says Christopher, and he likes the idea of helping the patients.

"I hope it makes them feel better," he says.

In that spirit, hospital employees also reach out to the community. At Holland Hospital, the staff of the Boven Birth Center collects gifts for the Lakeshore Pregnancy Resource Center and donates gently used coats to In the Image in Grand Rapids.