The waiting room at the University Place HEALS’ clinic was standing room only—three patients, one teen-age sibling, two parents and one grandparent.
Savanah*, age 8, and her brother Joey*, age 5, had appointments for their annual well-child physical and happily settled in the “Kids’ Corner” to color until their time to be seen. Savanah finished her physical first and sat back down at the table to finish coloring. Joey’s exam took a bit longer. He was understandably frightened at the prospect of getting shots and began crying very loudly.
Savanah’s eyes got wide when she heard her brother’s cries and she began to whimper sympathetically. This is when, Emily, the HEALS’ volunteer, rose to the occasion…
Emily quickly got some white paper and scissors and cut out a large snowflake. “Hmm,” she mused, “wonder where I could put this?” Savanah’s tears stopped and she asked for some paper so she could make snowflakes, too. Within a few minutes, everyone in the waiting room was cutting out snowflakes and giving them to Emily to tape on the walls of the small waiting area.
When Joey got his prizes from the treasure box (a treat for patients who get ‘sticks’) he asked Emily to teach him how and he soon joined the decorating party. Even the teen-ager stopped texting and added her pink snowflakes to the blizzard decorating the walls.
Without the kindness and creativity of the Kids’ Corner volunteer, the afternoon would have ended much differently. Thanks to all the HEALS’ volunteers who do such a successful job in helping the children’s visits be as stress free and happy as possible!
Shared by: HEALS, Inc. Clinic Coordinator
*Names altered for patient privacy