Providing an extra dimension of care: meet Hermin
GUEST BLOG - Riann Horan, Child Life Specialist at SickKids
He has huge eyes and an appetite for bubbles and fluff. He has no formal education and no training in burn healing. If you try to find him in the SickKids staff directory you will have no luck. Human Resources would probably tell you they have no idea who he is; but Hermin Eyeballs is an important member of the Burn Team at SickKids.
Hermin was invented by Child Life Specialist Shaindy Alexander during a play session in which she was attempting to support a child through a painful procedure. Shaindy will tell you that Hermin’s insatiable hunger for bubbles was born as a result of a desire to maintain a safe environment by preventing popped bubbles from making the floor slippery. In reality, however, the simple act of slipping on a set of eyes fixed on a ring created an imaginary character, one who has aided countless children to feel empowered and at ease in the hospital environment. With Hermin nearby, children have a voice where they would otherwise have felt afraid to speak up.
With Hermin nearby, children have a voice where they would otherwise have felt afraid to speak up.
Hermin’s silly meal selections, although a source of giggles and distraction, also help with additional therapeutic goals: by asking to have a snack of the fluff that a child may have in their pocket or on their pants, Hermin offers safe, non-medical touch in an environment where human contact so often is a source of anxiety. In a gentle way, Hermin tells kids that not all touches in the hospital will hurt. After an appetizer of fluff Hermin will more often than not request a snack of bubbles. Bubbles are one of the primary tools used by Child Life Specialists to help kids take relaxing, deep breaths. By breathing deeply kids relax their bodies, which can help reduce the discomfort of a procedure. Feeding Hermin is a way to sustain interest in bubble blowing.
Perhaps more important than any other role Hermin carries on the Burn Team, he is a reminder that kids need to be treated as kids. If you look to almost any nurse, doctor or other team member, you will see two funny eyeballs hanging from their badge. What this says to kids and families is, “We’re not all so uptight here. We know how to play.” Although not everyone wears the puppet Hermin, the message carried by having him present with so many team members is that we are all capable of play and we encourage it in our patients.
As children explore their world with Hermin, the Hermin he becomes may vary. Hermin is, if nothing else, an adaptable guy (he is, after all, a hand!). Kids who require a playmate find it in a Hermin who is always up for an adventure. Apprehensive children may meet a Hermin who is reluctantly willing to try their new medicine before them and a sombre child may find a confidante to share secrets with and an encourager of silliness in the Hermin they meet. Hermin often ventures home with children and this relationship is allowed to continue outside of the hospital. For many of the kids we see, Hermin is listed as their favourite member of the burn team, a friend and playmate.
