Montreal Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Department — the first of its kind in North America — is celebrating 90 years since its founding.
Since 1936, the department has helped children and teens reduce fear, build resilience and feel understood and empowered as they navigate their medical journeys.
The Child Life Department currently has 13 professionals who offer individualized care and support to children as they prepare for surgery.
Erica Crimi, who works as a child life specialist in the department says, they explain the medical procedures to children to help them prepare.
“We explain to them what will happen in a way that’s developmentally appropriate, and then we do some medical play with actual medical equipment (so) that they can then familiarize themselves with (them) and kind of normalize the hospital environment,” Crimi says.
One of those recipients was Sofia, who by the age of 10, had already gone through two open heart surgeries and six catheterizations due to a heart defect discovered at birth.
“They’ve helped me through hard times,” Sofia says. “They’ve helped me have more fun than I am having in reality and make me feel happier.”
Sofia’s mom Stefania Di Trapani says the department’s help became essential as she was getting older.
“She started to become a lot more aware of what surgery meant, the fears, the anxious feelings around what was going to be happening,” Stefania said. “And how things worked and how it was going to affect her.”
Following complications from a catheterization that heightened Sofia’s anxiety, Stefania says the Child Life Department stepped in to support her ahead of another procedure.
Now thriving, Sofia has also given back by lending her voice to the Child Life Department’s animated video “A Little Deep Sleep”, helping explain pre-op procedures and ease other children’s fears about surgery.
“It makes me feel very happy that adults and kids can watch that video and feel braver to go into surgery,” Sofia says.
Crimi says the department continues to expand to other parts of the hospital like the emergency department and pediatric test center.
“Another great project we’re working on is the creation of multi-sensory spaces. So currently we have one in the pediatric test center, and we’re on our way to create two more in the surgical day center,” Crimi says.
Stefania says the hospital staff including doctors have been great to her and Sofia over the years, especially those at the Child Life department.
“Child Life provides something so special that in times where you are dealing with life and death, can seem superfluous, but really in the end, ends up (being) that little bit of magic that is sprinkled on the whole situation,” Stefania says.
