SickKids Stories

GUEST BLOG: Melanie, SickKids kid

My name is Melanie and I’m 17 years old and a student in grade 12. I was diagnosed three years ago with Crohn’s disease and I’ve been a GI patient at Sickkids ever since. Post diagnosis, I would hate talking about my condition but over the years, I’ve learned to cope with it and even work with it to my advantage by applying for university scholarships for IBD patients and attending support group meetings for kids with Crohn’s disease and their families as well as organizing fundraisers for SickKids Foundation at my school. I believe that my situation has made me a more empathetic person and I have realized that health should never be taken for granted. During my experience with flare ups due to Crohn’s, I would experience severe pain, fatigue and weight loss. Since my diagnosis, I have had to undergo immunosuppressive treatment, tests, nutritional support and frequent hospitalizations. The emergency room soon became my second home after treatments failed to work and bowel obstructions were constant. Due to the pain and irritation that food would cause, I was put on enteral therapy for four months. Essentially, I was on a fluid diet without solid food for that period of time. I spent most of my summer at SickKids this year and after two successful discharges, I was admitted recently in August and stayed until October 1. During my admission, I had surgery to remove and resect part of my small intestine. Leading up to the surgery, I was hooked up to numerous IVs and was fed intravenously. At this point, I desperately wanted to go home.

Three days after my surgery, I was in stable condition and I was visited by one of the lovely therapy dogs, Emma. Seeing as I am a lover of all animals, I could not contain my happiness, even with a row of stitches lining my abdomen. I remember literally counting down the hours to the visit and would constantly pester the nurses and volunteers about making sure that the therapy dog would come by my room. I also remember telling my mom that I would “feel 60% better” if a therapy dog came to see me. During the visit, the dog calmly sat down next to me on my bed and I was so astonished at how docile and obedient she was. I instantly felt a peaceful connection between myself and the dog which made me forget about the stress that accompanies recovery. I think the therapy dog visits were very beneficial to me because during my admission, I missed my cat who was my primary source of stress relief and pain relief at home. This way, I was able to feel that bond that I share with my own pet, who could not be at the hospital with me.

I believe that having pets in general is a great source of stress and pain relief. Interacting with animals helps lower blood pressure and relieves anxiety. The therapy dog visits help with the treatment of the whole patient, not just the physiological aspect of medical treatment. Therapy dog visits help nurture a child’s emotional well-being and such human-animal bonds help the patients overcome anxiety towards medical treatment and fear because it removes the tense environment of a hospital setting for a brief period. I’ve seen in myself and other patients how this program benefits the mental and emotional well-being of children and adolescents in this hospital. This program is extremely important to this hospital because there is little that can replace the joy of playing with and petting a dog. No toy or game could replace the affection of an animal and not many things have the ability to so quickly reduce anxiety. Seeing the younger patients in the hospital, they were instantly drawn to the therapy dogs as all children are. The whole ward would have a different atmosphere when the therapy dogs came to visit every Tuesday and the patients would muster up the strength to get out of bed and be motivated to interact with the dog. When I was recovering from surgery, the therapy dog visits would help me get moving and out of my bed as well as distract me from the pain and stress of being away from my family, friends and pets.

Thank you PetSmart for launching and supporting the PetSmart Paws for Hope Program at SickKids and generously donating $500,000 over the next five years, because it really does make a positive impact on the life of the patients and removes the stress of a hospital stay. As a volunteer at PetSmart I help out with adoption events held at my local PetSmart location and I have already seen the wonderful things that PetSmart does as a company committed to helping animals. This sponsorship means a lot to the patients of the hospital and I am confident that it will be a beneficial partnership for PetSmart for many years to come.

Thank you PetSmart for your support!

“Pets comfort us when we need them the most. Through PetSmart Paws for Hope at SickKids, we have the opportunity to help more patients experience the supportive power of pets,” said John DeFranco, president, PetSmart Canada. “We are proud to partner with SickKids to help fund their pet therapy program and look forward to watching this unique life-changing program grow.”

“We appreciate the immense support that PetSmart is giving to our Pet Therapy program,“ said Susan O’Dowd, vice president, Human Resources, SickKids. “We’ve seen first-hand the unique capacity of pets to provide comfort and support and thanks to this sponsorship, this supportive power will have a significant impact on the many patients and families here at SickKids.”