Medical Disneyland

Cole has been having the time of his life. This hospitalization has been more like a Christmas party, than the usual prison. There has been presents, games, toys, movies and magic.We are so impressed with the staff at Miami Childrens. From the volunteers to the doctors. This campus is so clean and beautiful. I don't have a lot of pictures of it yet, because I keep forgetting to take my camera when I run down to get food. It is set right in the middle of a neighborhood, so it is quiet. Amenities are not far away though, the airport is probably 10 minutes from here and there are grocery stores, restaurants and other accommodations nearby. The hospital has even purchased an apartment complex nearby where families who are staying here for a long stretch can rent an apartment for a minimal fee. It sure helps our travel costs and has been nice to have a home base to shower, store all of our suitcases and be banished for a decent nights sleep every so often.

All of the entrances are shaded, even from the parking deck, so the children who are light sensitive are not exposed to sunlight. Obviously there are palm trees everywhere. A bonus for us! Both Brian and I really miss living in tropical climates. Everywhere you look, there are beautiful murals on the walls. Some even have mirrors incorporated for the children who like looking at their reflection. The pathways are easily marked by a color and coordinating animal, so if you do not speak English, you can get to where you need to by following the green line with the turtle, etc. The family center downstairs has a movie theatre, library, computers, and even offers laundry service. Seriously, we took our laundry down, they did it and brought it back up to us for free! They also have a dry cleaners on campus, but you have to pay for it. On Wed, the parents can schedule 20 minute massages-for free!

The hospital has a live radio show with games and prizes. The Radio Lollipop staff even coms to visit the patients every day. We have had more volunteers come here to visit Cole in three days, than we have in three years of hospitalizations. They enter armed with carts full of toys, board games and art projects. Plus, they actually stick around and play with him...for hours! He loves his latin ladies :) Last night, Cole was having a hard time waking up from a three hour nap and was burrowed into Brian's lap. He wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't talk to Brian, wouldn't Skype with grandma...he was just not into it. Two beautiful latin nurses came in and he popped right up and said, "HI"! He started just chatting like he had been awake for hours. Naughty boy! We were a little offended, grandma was too, but the staff really are gracious.The child life specialists are awesome and come in every day to make sure Cole is adjusting well. Obviously he has been in the hospital a time or two, but for kids, this can be a scary place. They have someone place a book in front of his face for blood draws so he doesn't have to look at the needle, and then he gets real, full size toys as a prize for being so brave. We are going home with a full size Buzz Lightyear action figure (that I considered getting for Christmas but it was too expensive), a Mickey Mouse bowling set and a V Tech computer, complete with a mouse.He also got a mini pillow pet, a fleece blanket and bubbles. Don't know where I am going to find the room for all of this in our luggage, but he has been having a great time. He is relaxed and happy. Usually when he is participating in an EEG he is grumpy and restless because he can not leave the room.
He has had visits from three therapy dogs. We have gotten the opportunity to talk a lot about Cole's service dog. It has just made us more and more excited for the day when Cole gets to finally meet his puppy.The "Bedside Buddies" come at least twice a day with their carts of fun. He's been playing Candy Land and making pictures with glitter. Everything here is decorated to be geared towards children. Even the floor cleaning machine (which comes by every day I might add) has little wisps of steam and gears painted on it. The nurses carts look like race cars and everyone has a smile.We have seen the specialists in our room multiple times. They spend a lot of time consulting with us instead of the usual come in, get the history, go out manner that we are used to. We have seen genetics, endocrinology, neurology, epileptology, dietitian, nurse practitioners, neuropsychology, and probably some others that I can't remember. I think I've done enough gushing for now, but this is the fourth hospital Cole has been in and I have been in several others myself. This is, by far, my favorite.