At a Child's Side

Vanessa Gramm opens children's eyes to an ideal hospital experience

Party time

 To celebrate Famela Zulu's last chemotherapy treatment, child life specialist Vanessa Gramm threw a party in her honor. Several pediatric unit caregivers stopped by with presents and enjoyed a piece of strawberry shortcake, Famela's favorite.

Feeling comfortable

 Before seeing their mom after surgery, Vanessa Gramm talked to Tyler (left) and Nicholas (right) DiVito in the pediatric playroom to help them understand how their mom will look.

She’s a colleague, a friend and often a member of a patient’s extended family. She’s a companion, a playmate, a smiling face or a shoulder to cry on. She’s schooled in psychology and certified in her area of expertise. She’s Vanessa Gramm, our child life specialist.

Common in a children’s hospital, rare in a community hospital, a child life specialist offers emotional support to children who are hospitalized or have loved ones who are receiving inpatient care. “My mission is to help kids understand a hospital is not scary,” Gramm says. “It’s a place that gets people well and back home with their families.”

As new specialists and expanded services enhance our pediatric program, Gramm’s care demonstrates the importance of addressing our younger patient’s medical and emotional needs. Here’s how her skills helped make difficult situations easier for two local families.

“My daughter was very sick, and I was very scared.”
That’s how Rufus Zulu felt when he learned his 5-year-old daughter, Famela, had Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. As a single parent, Rufus had to continue working, and wondered how he’d be able to stay with Famela during her inpatient chemotherapy treatments over the next six months.

During Famela’s first treatment, the Zulus met Gramm. “She assured me someone would be at Famela’s side when I wasn’t there,” Rufus recalls. “I felt better knowing that.”

Gramm kept her promise. “It’s my job to be her surrogate parent,” she says. She spent much of her eight-hour shift with Famela. When she was caring for other patients, Gramm found a fill-in.

Like she does for all returning patients, Gramm kept a log of what toys, activities and foods Famela enjoys. She even had white rice prepared, a favorite of Famela’s while growing up in Africa’s Ivory Coast. When Famela arrived for her second treatment, her favorite things filled the room. “It kept her mind off her illness,” Gramm says.

After Famela’s last chemo treatment, Gramm threw a party for her and gave her a trophy. Today, Famela is feeling fine and back in school. “We are grateful to have received such excellent care so close to home,” Rufus says. “We couldn’t have done it without Vanessa.”

“How are we going to explain this to the kids?”
That question weighed on the minds of Ed and Bernadette DiVito after learning a blood-clotting disorder would force the amputation of Bernadette’s hand. “We knew Tyler (6) and Nicholas (4) would not take the news well,” Ed says.

Soon after the surgery, Gramm was at their side. “I explained how I could use a doll to show Tyler and Nicholas how their mom will look before they see her for the first time,” Gramm says. “We were so relieved,” Ed says, “we smiled for the first time in weeks.”

When the boys came to the hospital, however, they were not smiling. To ease the tension, Gramm brought them to the pediatric playroom and offered them a slushy. “I took the hand off the doll, wrapped it with bandages and explained that doctors had to take mom’s hand so she could come home,” Gramm says. “To lessen the shock, I showed them pictures I had taken of their mom and told them they would need to help mom around the house.”

When the boys said they were ready, they went to mom’s room. There were no tears and no awkwardness. Tyler broke the ice by saying, “I think you look spiffy.”

Today, the boys are picking up their toys and helping mom tie her shoes. “Vanessa made the difference,” Bernadette says. “Every hospital should have someone like her.”

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