When I arrived on my floor on Monday I encountered a challenge I was not prepared to face: the four-year-old I had become so close with was gone. I was surely delighted that his brother had apparently been well enough to return home, yet I was discouraged that I hadn't had the chance to say goodbye. This is just another aspect of working and volunteering in a hospital; it is difficult to form tight bonds with the patients and their families because of their sudden discharges. As someone who centers my attention around the children, it can sometimes be difficult to come in and find that the kids you have been spending ample time with recently you may never see again. It just so happened that on Monday all of the patients on the floor were not permitted in the playroom, so this day was all about reaching out to the kids. Soon enough, there was no more reaching out to do so I was sent to the second floor with another volunteer to clean their playroom. Not thinking much of the task, we went on down only to find a maelstrom of dirty toys scattered across the room. We had to clean each and every piece of every toy and then hd to organize them into separate shelves and bins. It took about two and half hours. To know that kids would now be able to use the playroom and find the toys they covet made it worthwhile, however.
Tuesday began as a normal day on Rainbow 5. I cleaned a few toys, put them in place, and made a few walks around the floor to see if the patients needed toys or company. My supervisor and I, after noticing we were low on some toys, ventured into the basement of the hospital where all the donated toys are kept. We snagged some blankets, markers and a bunch of coloring books for our floor. It felt good to know, as evidenced by the basement filled with toys, that these kids are fully supported by the greater community. Once we returned to the floor, a boy asked for the Wii. I played Mario Party and Madden with him for a while as both of our games turned into battles. I then had to attend to another boy on the floor, as he had been upset all morning and had been crying for his mother. Three other volunteers and I stopped in and we watched the movie Holes with him until his cries came to a halt. The nurses then informed us that he was now well enough to play in the playroom, so we introduced him to our kingdom. He then had to return back to his room for treatment but was petrified to go back with the nurses, so I pushed him in the wagon and stuck with him as he was given his treatment. After it was all over, we went back to playing with the playroom's magnetic sand tables and I taught him how to draw cars similar to the ones I had decorated the playroom with. At the end of my day, bingo was being held. Patients that couldn't leave their rooms could turn on their televisions and play. Two kids and I played and one of them won a gift card.
My last day at Rainbow was a day full of arts and crafts. After cleaning toys and bringing them to patients, I began decorating the playroom. My supervisor and I drew all over the drawable walls with markers. I then sat down and crafted a tennis court, baseball field, basketball court and football field out of paper and pasted them on the blank cabinets. Next, I took coloring books and stencil sheets to a girl's room and we drew a bunch of different nature scenes. The boy I played Wii with on Tuesday needed a partner in Mario Kart. Another girl came to the playroom and I helped her draw on the white and chalk boards. The other boy I had played with on Tuesday was upset once again and didn't want to eat. I was sent to convince him to eat and reward him with a trip to the playroom so he could draw his own car on the wall. Before I knew it, it was time for me to leave the hospital. It was tough to leave knowing there were many children still needing company to help them fight adversity. I didn't want it to be my last time on Rainbow 5. If I can find time this summer, I definitely will consider coming back.
No comments:
Post a Comment