Community Impact · Charity in Bloom
When You Have Nothing Left to Give
Why the Renown Child Life Team is Our Charity in Bloom
It was September 2021. Our son, who was our only child at the time, had just started preschool, and by Labor Day weekend, we found ourselves rushing him to the emergency room. He had RSV and his oxygen saturation was plummeting.
If you have ever seen a child struggling to breathe, you know the pure terror of it. You watch their little ribs and stomach heaving, desperately trying to make up for the lack of oxygen. The care team took one look at him and immediately got him into a back room. An X-ray revealed pneumonia on top of it all. He was our first child, barely three years old, and we were terrified.
They needed to start an IV. For a three-year-old, this is a nightmare. But then, a really nice care team walked in carrying toys and a little medical bear. They showed my son exactly what was about to happen using the bear, handing him a light-up spinner to distract him while the IV was inserted.
At the time, I didn't realize there was an entire dedicated department at the hospital just for this. I wouldn't truly discover the Renown Child Life team until a few days later, when I hit my absolute breaking point.
Our son was admitted for several days to get his oxygen up and pump him full of antibiotics. But the universe wasn't done with us. My husband, Andy, has epilepsy (you may have seen his story in the news), and because of his medications, he catches every little illness. The stress of our son's hospitalization took a toll, and by the second day, Andy was running a fever, sweating, and coughing.
A few hours later, my husband was admitted to the exact same hospital with adult RSV and pneumonia.
So there I was: split between two isolated hospital rooms.
What I haven't shared publicly until now is that at this exact same time, I was having a miscarriage. I was about 7 weeks pregnant, and only Andy knew. It felt like my entire world was caving in all at once. I was trying to keep my grief in a little box so I could function. There was nothing I could do about the miscarriage. I knew Andy was in good hands, but I needed to navigate the hospital to bring him his specialized epilepsy medication, and I desperately needed to be there for my terrified three-year-old.
Because both my husband and son had highly contagious RSV, we couldn't have any family visit to help, and because I somehow managed not to catch it, I was the only one who could go between their two rooms.
I was stretched entirely too thin. I had absolutely nothing left to give.
That is where the Child Life Specialists became my lifeline. I needed to leave my son's room to deliver Andy's medication, check on him, and just get a cup of coffee so I wouldn't collapse. I told my son's nurses my game plan, and that is when I truly learned what the Child Life team does.
Because my son was in isolation, he couldn't go to the playroom. Instead, this dedicated team of specialists brought board games and activities right to his room. They sat with him, kept him entertained, and watched over him for nearly an hour so I could step away. I had no idea this specialized team even existed until that moment of pure distress. When they stepped in, it felt like a crushing weight was lifted off my shoulders. They gave me the hour of sanity I needed to navigate down to my husband's room, bring us both a desperate cup of Starbucks coffee, and finally breathe.
They are the glue that holds a shattered family together when the parents have nothing left to give.
Beyond the Short Stays: Meeting LeAnne
Our experience was a short, intense burst of chaos. But for many families, the hospital becomes a second home. When we decided to partner with Renown Children's Hospital for our July Charity in Bloom campaign, it was immediately clear that we needed to focus on funding the Child Life team.
This became even more apparent when we met LeAnne, an incredible Children's Miracle Network champion (you can hear her story here).
When we brought Charity in Bloom bouquets to the hospital to give to the team, LeAnne came with us. The moment she saw the Child Life Specialists, she lit up, and they instantly recognized her. Watching that interaction, I could only imagine what this team meant to her during her long journey in and out of the hospital.
Why This Month Matters
I also learned that their impact goes far beyond keeping sick kids entertained. They also help healthy kids process the trauma of visiting severely injured or ill parents, using medical play to help a child understand why their mom or dad looks different after an accident before they walk into the ICU room.
When you purchase our July Charity in Bloom bouquet, you aren't just buying flowers. For our $180 arrangement, a full $45 goes directly to the Renown Child Life Program.
You don't even have to buy the Charity in Bloom bouquet to help. You can add an additional donation to any arrangement or purchase from Sparks Florist! Here is exactly what those add-on donations provide:
- A $10 add-on donation buys bedside activities and fidget toys to cut through the crushing boredom of an isolation room.
- A $20 add-on donation pays for the specialized medical play dolls they use to take the "scary" out of a needle or a procedure.
- A $30 add-on donation funds the advanced art and music therapy that gives a stretched-thin family a way to find peace in a chaotic environment.
You are giving a terrified child their bravery back. And you are giving an overwhelmed parent a much-needed lifeline. Thank you for helping us support them this month.