MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Support for children admitted and their families is a fundamental element of the care journey. When a child faces an important disease is not only the small patient to be involved: the whole family lives a moment of fragility, made of fears, uncertainties, sudden changes and practical needs, often difficult to manage. In this context, alongside medical care, it is essential to take care of the emotional, psychological and social dimension: children need to feel welcomed and protected, parents need support to deal with the emotional weight of decisions, the complexity of clinical information, logistic and economic difficulties.
Taking care of children means taking care of parents, brothers and sisters, of the affective network around: a sustained family is a stronger family, better able to face the challenges of the disease. “I have run this association for 25 years and consider it as my fourth son. The support for sick children and their families is concrete and we do it above all with our presence: My co-workers help me a lot in the organization of the activities of these families, especially those coming from far away; are destructive moments for them so we try to support them 360°, starting from the reception”, said Beatrice Cordero of Montezemolo, president of the association Carlo Besta neurological childhood department (Cbdin), interviewed by Marco Klinger for Top Medicine, TV format of the news agency Italpress.
“We move in these corridors of childhood neuropsychology: sometimes it seems that families only wait for us to ask us to be pampered and have a moral and sincere support – he added. The doctors are there, but they feel lost: we have a psychology service for parents and since September we have activated one for children and adolescents”. Among the factors that reduce the stress of families, both emotional and logistic, “there is first of all clarity: You have to tell him right away what they’re going to meet, because we’re not a hospital like another, and we try to allure in every possible way. We had the two departments painted to make them more welcoming, starting from the corridors where families can stay for a different time.”.
Montezemolo then tells two episodes that were particularly impressed: “I remember a family that had arrived from Sicily in total crisis: did not know if the child would come out alive or dead and were desperate, we supported them from the beginning to the end by making available an apartment for free; We do this with an infinite passion. Another family of Valtellina has remained for a few days, because then the child has failed, but every year they owe to us the proceeds of a podistic race organized by them”.
The president of Cbdin then dwells on what he considers the flagship of the association, but also on the link recently established with the academic panorama: “At our Luna Park we invite all children, offering snacks and making available all the space with a 25 euro entrance: I often get calls from parents or grandparents, who tell me how children ask him to return to Luna Park. Until a few years ago, we were dealing with less practical aspects while we have now launched in PhDs, scholarships and professors.”.
Montezemolo concludes with a reflection on the role of those who daily care for children and an appeal to families who may need the structure: “Medics and nurses dedicate themselves to children with a truly deep love: It is not true that this profession should be done without being too empathic, because a child who meets the therapies must feel loved. To families I want to say that they will not be alone and that, even if the entrance to the hospital is dramatic, they will find a warm welcome and we will never abandon them.”.
-Photos taken from video Top medicine
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