Stories from the Ward: Finding Calm in the Cardiology Clinic
Some moments in hospital require more than laughter alone. They call for trust, flexibility and the ability to meet a child exactly where they are.
In this Story from the Ward, Dr Saurus-Rex reflects on a memorable encounter with a young cardiology patient whose visit took an unexpected turn. Through play, connection and a healthy dose of creative improvisation, a series of challenging medical tests became a positive experience for the child, their parent and the healthcare team.
A Big Day for a Very Little Patient
Dr Wing It and I had a series of brilliant distractions with a little tacker aged somewhere around 2 years old who was in for the cardiology clinic. We saw him once last year on the ward and recognised him and his parent immediately. He was super alert and kind of had his head on a swivel; you could tell he’s one of those little kids who are burdened with knowledge and associate the hospital with pain/discomfort/fear.
We were able to build a rapport with him in the waiting area using scarves, puppets and music and his parent was happy for us to come in while he had his observations done, as they could see we were helping to keep him calm. He had an ECG immediately after that and we were able to keep his focus on us even though he was far more anxious about what was happening. His parent said it had never gone this well before.
We continued to work with him in the waiting area and when the echo technician came to get him for his procedure, we asked if we could come in. She was hesitant and said he needed to not be excited. We explained we aren’t just in the hospital to entertain, but are also trained in keeping kids calm and distracted from scary things, and that she could at any time kick us out. She let us in. The parent supported this decision, as they had only managed one totally successful echo on the child before and it was whilst he was still sedated after surgery and that she fully expected it to go badly like all the others.
The technician clearly felt the same, but Wingy and I were quietly confident. We certainly had to change tack at the speed of light to keep him focussed on us and not fight the procedure, but we really nailed it. Puppets, scarves, lights, my hat, anything he wanted to focus on we went with. A favourite little routine was Wingy bopping me on the head repeatedly with her light-up octopus. Whatever works!
You could also feel the parent and the echo technician’s stress melt away, and everyone was able to laugh and enjoy what was happening. The parent kept commenting that this has never happened before and asked if we could please go home with them and the technician said she’s happy to have us back any time. Win!
