Child Life Makes Month Long Hospital Stay Bearable for Teen

Spending a month in the hospital is probably the last thing any active teenager wants to do, especially when it means multiple surgeries for serious injuries. But for 15-year-old Jake Schaefer, there was one thing that made his stay at Denver Health a little bit more tolerable.

"Child Life gave me the backbone and support that I needed to get better faster," Jake said.

Denver Health caught up with Jake and his dad Kevin Schaefer about a year after a freak accident changed his entire life.

Last summer, Jake was riding his personal, manual scooter, on his way to meet his friends, when he took a shortcut through a parking lot. That parking lot had a bunch of unfilled cracks.   

I was riding slow, hit a crack, and the scooter went flying to the right, and I landed on top," Jake recalled. "Then I thought that I broke my leg. So, I stood up to call my father, and that's when I noticed that I was just bleeding out. The scooter had punctured my thigh, which then severed my femoral artery. That's when I knew to call 911. I remember being unloaded, and then brought into the trauma room."

The severity of his injuries meant that he eventually ended up being brought to Denver Health, which has a specialized level two pediatric trauma team, specially trained in dealing with these types of serious, life-threatening injuries.

Jake ended up needing 19 surgeries and spending nearly a month in the hospital – something no one in his family was prepared for, but Child Life was there to help him and his family every step of the way.

"This was the first time I'd ever heard of Child Life," Kevin said. "It was amazing because what they were able to break that heavy levity of the whole situation of what we were going through, and be able to laugh and joke, it blew me away."

"We have doctors that are specialized in caring for children, and we also have pediatric psychologists, and we also have Child Life," said Claudia Kunrath, MD, medical director of Denver Health's pediatric intensive care unit. "That is really important for the wellbeing of a teenager that's going to stay in a hospital critically ill, and also for a longer time. We take care of neonates all the way to young adults, medical and surgical patients. And we are actually the only hospital in the state that can offer that seven days a week."

Child life specialists help doctors and providers explain to children the things they are going to do in a developmentally appropriate way, so that the child knows what's going to happen throughout their hospitalization. They also visit with the patients, bring them "bags of fun" which are filled with toys and other items to keep them occupied. Denver Health even offers a playroom with video games, foosball, art activities and more, to break up the boredom of being stuck in a hospital room. The playroom is open to the patient and their families.

"Child Life at Denver Health is here to reduce the anxiety or fear of the medical world, whether that's procedures or diagnoses or just to help them understand and cope," said Amanda Roper, Child Life manager.

"One of my favorite experiences is going in and having the Child Life specialist do the education prior to us walking in, and being able to start IVs and having the patient not even know that we started an IV," said Jared Wright, an emergency room nurse. "I think that makes the whole stay at the emergency department a million times better."

"Oftentimes, we are doing IVs on Spider-Man, so they know what to expect, or we're maybe playing with them at the bedside, or preparing them for surgery with a doll or practicing with a mask," Roper continued. "Other times, it just is that normalization, bringing them into the playroom, helping them feel comfortable, advocating for what's going to be best for the child to reduce any trauma or medical trauma or pain management. We wear multiple hats throughout the day. The other piece that we do is help out for any grief and loss, supporting them through that, whether it's siblings or families, and whatever we can do to be there for them."

"Our patients get to know the whole medical staff, especially the Child Life specialists quite well," Dr. Kunrath added. "We get quite attached to the families that stay here a long time, and I have lots of patients and families that have come and gone to other places, and they really feel that Denver Health is special, we can give excellent care, but it's much more personalized."

"The entire team was fabulous," Kevin said, "Child Life is an amazing group for what they provide to children to make their stay better, to kind of make it more like home."

"I would say that Child Life made this hospital stay more fun," said Jake. "It was very important to have them with me through my hospital visit."

For more information on Child Life services at Denver Health, please visit our website, DenverHealth.org/ChildLife.