How lovely are your branches!!!
Thought I'd share what my cute little baby tree looks like.
Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The renovations are complete!!!
At least for now...
So the pediatric unit has been through a mini makeover. I would love to have done more, but there always has to be compromise, so what's done is done and it's better than the way it looked before. Too bad I didn't get the real 'before' shots. The shots I posted earlier are mid-project pics and I'm happy to present the final product!
This is the treatment room:
And since I can't do panoramic pictures with my phone, I had to take 3 shots to show you the entire playroom.
Here's the before shot:
The room had lots of bulky furniture that we took out, and we found fun underwater creature decals to create a feaux-mural! I also ordered a mirror and soft play mat so there was an area just for infants to sit and look at their cute selves!!!
At least for now...
So the pediatric unit has been through a mini makeover. I would love to have done more, but there always has to be compromise, so what's done is done and it's better than the way it looked before. Too bad I didn't get the real 'before' shots. The shots I posted earlier are mid-project pics and I'm happy to present the final product!
This is the treatment room:
And since I can't do panoramic pictures with my phone, I had to take 3 shots to show you the entire playroom.
Here's the before shot:
The room had lots of bulky furniture that we took out, and we found fun underwater creature decals to create a feaux-mural! I also ordered a mirror and soft play mat so there was an area just for infants to sit and look at their cute selves!!!
I warned you....
I'm not the most up to date person with my blogging, but I'm trying!
So, the aforementioned newspaper article came out last week. Despite some minor typos (such as my age, the lie that I was hospitalized at 13, and that I'm 'not a medical professional') the article was pretty ok. I don't love how big my picture was, and apparently I look different, some might even say I look Chinese in the photo. Anyway, as promised, here's the article.
Katy News
Sarah Rowe, 22, of Fulshear, a child life specialist at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, uses a large doll to explain procedures and surgeries pediatric patients will undergo.
SUZANNE REHAK: FOR THE CHRONICLE
Nov. 29, 2007, 9:13AM
FACES IN THE CROWD
Hospital employee helps put pediatric patients at ease
Taylor grad visits children waiting for surgery, procedures
By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent
Sarah Rowe's office at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital is filled with toys, children's books and stuffed animals. She has video games for boys and jewelry-making kits for girls.
"I think the toys, from my point of view, are distraction objects," said the 22-year-old Fulshear resident. "For the kid, it's like fun and they think, 'I can do something exciting while I'm here.' "
Distracting pediatric patients from the fear of impending medical procedures is her main job.
Even though she's not a medical professional, Rowe said her work as a child life specialist is essential in the eyes of children and parents.
"A child life specialist is aiming to minimize the stress for the children but also for their families," said Rowe, who graduated from Taylor High School in 2002. "What we really want to do is give the parents the tools to really help their child cope with what's going on."
During a day, Rowe visits with children who are waiting for surgery, needing stitches or facing a medical procedure.
Making a cast on a stuffed giraffe or practicing the technique for stitches on a doll, called medical play, are some ways Rowe helps put patients at ease while waiting for the real thing.
Her language and explanation of medical procedures is tailored to fit a child's level of understanding, she said. Sometimes, she just sits and talks, or plays games, with children to help pass time.
"For a child to be able to come in to something that's totally unfamiliar and see some of these things that are familiar to them gives them something else to think about," said Rowe, who attends Second Baptist Church West Campus in Katy.
She offers emotional support to parents dealing with their child's hospitalization as well as new parents and siblings learning to cope with a newborn.
A Katy native, Rowe is the hospital's first child life specialist, a newly created position.
On average, she sees 15 children each day and strives to prioritize patients according to their need and condition.
Age-appropriate treatment plans are developed for a child, she said, based on factors such as development, medical history and diagnosis.
Her days can be unpredictable, she said, especially since she never knows what kind of stressful situation she will face in the emergency room.
"You may have a few patients with colds all day or you may have EMS rolling in with kids every hour," she said.
The emergency room is where she met Allie Schauer, a fourth-grader at James Williams Elementary School who had hit her head against a brick wall on the school playground. Schauer was bleeding from a large gash on her forehead.
"I was nervous and really, really scared," said Schauer, who had never been to a hospital. "The first thing I said is, 'I don't want to get stitches.' "
But after Rowe showed the 9-year-old how stitches are done on a stuffed animal, Schauer said she was more at ease.
"It made me feel more confident about getting stitches, and it made me say this isn't going to be scary at all," she said.
Rowe said her experience as a teen in a hospital was a reason she decided to pursue a career in child life. At 13, she spent several days in the hospital after becoming severely ill, and missed school and friends.
While in college at Baylor University in Waco, Rowe said a professor encouraged her to enroll in a class about child life.
"When I heard about the field, I thought, 'that's perfect,' because if I can prevent some kids from going through what I went through when I was 13 I would love to be able to do that," said Rowe, who graduated from Baylor last year.
Before she began working at the hospital, she trained at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center to better understand medical and surgical procedures.
While her training prepared her to talk about the medical side, Rowe said the coping skills she teaches children can be beneficial years down the road.
"The hardest thing is that you know you can't really fix everything for a child," she said. "But to have a child that's been able to take what you're able to teach them, and to be able to cope with it and come out as almost a positive experience, that's a real blessing."
So, the aforementioned newspaper article came out last week. Despite some minor typos (such as my age, the lie that I was hospitalized at 13, and that I'm 'not a medical professional') the article was pretty ok. I don't love how big my picture was, and apparently I look different, some might even say I look Chinese in the photo. Anyway, as promised, here's the article.
Katy News
Sarah Rowe, 22, of Fulshear, a child life specialist at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, uses a large doll to explain procedures and surgeries pediatric patients will undergo.
SUZANNE REHAK: FOR THE CHRONICLE
Nov. 29, 2007, 9:13AM
FACES IN THE CROWD
Hospital employee helps put pediatric patients at ease
Taylor grad visits children waiting for surgery, procedures
By KIMBERLY PIÑA
Chronicle Correspondent
Sarah Rowe's office at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital is filled with toys, children's books and stuffed animals. She has video games for boys and jewelry-making kits for girls.
"I think the toys, from my point of view, are distraction objects," said the 22-year-old Fulshear resident. "For the kid, it's like fun and they think, 'I can do something exciting while I'm here.' "
Distracting pediatric patients from the fear of impending medical procedures is her main job.
Even though she's not a medical professional, Rowe said her work as a child life specialist is essential in the eyes of children and parents.
"A child life specialist is aiming to minimize the stress for the children but also for their families," said Rowe, who graduated from Taylor High School in 2002. "What we really want to do is give the parents the tools to really help their child cope with what's going on."
During a day, Rowe visits with children who are waiting for surgery, needing stitches or facing a medical procedure.
Making a cast on a stuffed giraffe or practicing the technique for stitches on a doll, called medical play, are some ways Rowe helps put patients at ease while waiting for the real thing.
Her language and explanation of medical procedures is tailored to fit a child's level of understanding, she said. Sometimes, she just sits and talks, or plays games, with children to help pass time.
"For a child to be able to come in to something that's totally unfamiliar and see some of these things that are familiar to them gives them something else to think about," said Rowe, who attends Second Baptist Church West Campus in Katy.
She offers emotional support to parents dealing with their child's hospitalization as well as new parents and siblings learning to cope with a newborn.
A Katy native, Rowe is the hospital's first child life specialist, a newly created position.
On average, she sees 15 children each day and strives to prioritize patients according to their need and condition.
Age-appropriate treatment plans are developed for a child, she said, based on factors such as development, medical history and diagnosis.
Her days can be unpredictable, she said, especially since she never knows what kind of stressful situation she will face in the emergency room.
"You may have a few patients with colds all day or you may have EMS rolling in with kids every hour," she said.
The emergency room is where she met Allie Schauer, a fourth-grader at James Williams Elementary School who had hit her head against a brick wall on the school playground. Schauer was bleeding from a large gash on her forehead.
"I was nervous and really, really scared," said Schauer, who had never been to a hospital. "The first thing I said is, 'I don't want to get stitches.' "
But after Rowe showed the 9-year-old how stitches are done on a stuffed animal, Schauer said she was more at ease.
"It made me feel more confident about getting stitches, and it made me say this isn't going to be scary at all," she said.
Rowe said her experience as a teen in a hospital was a reason she decided to pursue a career in child life. At 13, she spent several days in the hospital after becoming severely ill, and missed school and friends.
While in college at Baylor University in Waco, Rowe said a professor encouraged her to enroll in a class about child life.
"When I heard about the field, I thought, 'that's perfect,' because if I can prevent some kids from going through what I went through when I was 13 I would love to be able to do that," said Rowe, who graduated from Baylor last year.
Before she began working at the hospital, she trained at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center to better understand medical and surgical procedures.
While her training prepared her to talk about the medical side, Rowe said the coping skills she teaches children can be beneficial years down the road.
"The hardest thing is that you know you can't really fix everything for a child," she said. "But to have a child that's been able to take what you're able to teach them, and to be able to cope with it and come out as almost a positive experience, that's a real blessing."
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
My 15 Minutes of Fame...
So, a few weeks ago someone from 'corporate' called me and said that the Houston Chronicle was interested in my job and wanted to send a reporter and photographer out to interview me and take some pictures for an article in some special weekend section of the paper. Naturally I said, YES! I was really excited about being able to spread the word about Child Life, and to also get something juicy for my work portfolio. So, they came out, the interview was great and the photoshoot was a little awkward since I had to pretend I was talking to my teaching doll...anyway a few days later I was on the Katy section of the Chronicle webpage! Check it out! I'll post a copy of the full article when it runs, which should be somewhere around Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Trick or Treat....I Say Treat!!!
Today was my first Halloween as a Child Life Specialist. I prepared holiday craft activities, bought little Halloween themed trinkets to give out, and even made little candy bags for my nurses and doctors. And then I had one patient all day...you'd think I'm kidding right?? I guess I didn't think about the fact that most kids would try and avoid being kept home sick so they wouldn't have to miss out on trick or treating. So, the one 5 year old I had in the ER today took home lots of Halloween trinkets for himself and his siblings.
I've never really loved Halloween though, I blame my mom...she convinced me at a young age that it's an evil and satanic day. I kind of agree now, but I also think any day that gives you an excuse to put on a costume and get free candy has to be good! However, the thing I love most about Halloween is that this day marks an anniversary with a very important being in my life. My dog, Emma!!!!! Today Emma and I celebrated 11 years as pet and owner!!! She wore a costume, collected pettins from some trick or treaters and enjoyed a few treats of her own! So, here are some pictures.
My cute little Pumpkin Pup!
Of course Manna dressed up as a princess puppy...
Holly had a special costume thanks to her Big Bad Brad.
I've never really loved Halloween though, I blame my mom...she convinced me at a young age that it's an evil and satanic day. I kind of agree now, but I also think any day that gives you an excuse to put on a costume and get free candy has to be good! However, the thing I love most about Halloween is that this day marks an anniversary with a very important being in my life. My dog, Emma!!!!! Today Emma and I celebrated 11 years as pet and owner!!! She wore a costume, collected pettins from some trick or treaters and enjoyed a few treats of her own! So, here are some pictures.
My cute little Pumpkin Pup!
Of course Manna dressed up as a princess puppy...
Holly had a special costume thanks to her Big Bad Brad.
She may not have loved it, but she definately tolerated it!
11 years of love!!
I promise Emma loves me, she was just tired after being a pumpkin all night!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Renovations at Work
So, lately a lot of my time at work has been spent on making decisions about the renovations that are being done on our Pediatric unit. As one of the few people at the hospital who has worked in a Children's hospital, I've had to fight a few....scratch that LOTS of battles to bring COLOR and Kid friendly looks to the unit. So, I thought I'd chronicle the project for you to watch. Problem is we forgot to take pictures of what the unit looked like before anything got done...so these pictures were taken about halfway through the project. Stay tuned for the final product!
This is the hallway of our unit...the walls all used to be the brown color you see on the left, and under the chair rail. We added the bright yellow/orange.
Half of the patient rooms are this color green.
And half of the patient rooms are this color yellow....so all the patient rooms are Baylor colors!! Sic em!
This is the playroom, I've painted the stars on the ceiling...which was more of a WAR to get done as opposed to other mentioned battles!
This is the hallway of our unit...the walls all used to be the brown color you see on the left, and under the chair rail. We added the bright yellow/orange.
Half of the patient rooms are this color green.
And half of the patient rooms are this color yellow....so all the patient rooms are Baylor colors!! Sic em!
This is the playroom, I've painted the stars on the ceiling...which was more of a WAR to get done as opposed to other mentioned battles!
Monday, October 22, 2007
So I started a blog.....
I'm going to be straight up with you...it may turn out that I'm not a very good blogger, but I thought I'd give it a shot. There's nothing incredibly interesting about my life, and I don't really have any profound knowledge to lay on you...I just thought I'd give this a shot.
Story of my life:
I have 2 parents, 3 brothers, 2 sister in laws, 1 perfect neice, 3 dogs and enough friends to make me happy.
You may be wondering why I chose to name my blog Serendipity Sarah. Good question. If you google the word you'll find that Wikipedia defines serendipity as
I think that we've all experienced a serendipitous moment at one point in our lives, but the main one for me is that I'm continuously blessed when I don't deserve it. I guess you could say God's grace is the fortunate thing I've found each time I go looking for 'something else'.
Second, I'm a huge fan of the Serendipity 3 restaurant in NYC. If you've never been and you're a female let me know so I can kidnap you & take the next flight to NYC just for dessert!
Third, I also love the movie Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, classic chick flick that hits the spot any time you need to stay in on a Friday night with some chocolate and escape the real world.
I think that does it for my first post....I'll start with the bar low and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised if this gets interesting...a serendipity of sorts.
Story of my life:
I have 2 parents, 3 brothers, 2 sister in laws, 1 perfect neice, 3 dogs and enough friends to make me happy.
You may be wondering why I chose to name my blog Serendipity Sarah. Good question. If you google the word you'll find that Wikipedia defines serendipity as
"the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. "
I think that we've all experienced a serendipitous moment at one point in our lives, but the main one for me is that I'm continuously blessed when I don't deserve it. I guess you could say God's grace is the fortunate thing I've found each time I go looking for 'something else'.
Second, I'm a huge fan of the Serendipity 3 restaurant in NYC. If you've never been and you're a female let me know so I can kidnap you & take the next flight to NYC just for dessert!
Third, I also love the movie Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, classic chick flick that hits the spot any time you need to stay in on a Friday night with some chocolate and escape the real world.
I think that does it for my first post....I'll start with the bar low and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised if this gets interesting...a serendipity of sorts.
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