Prescribe Joy to Seriously Ill Kids and Teens

Last February, nine-year-old Jayden was in a terrible car accident in which her mother and twin sister were killed. She was facing a long hospital stay and the hospital staff thought a room makeover might bring this little girl a bit of cheer in the midst of such a difficult time. CCA sprang into action, first talking to Jayden to see what she liked, then transforming her room with a new comforter, One Direction posters, and pictures of her family. The “before” and “after” was remarkable, and so was little Jayden’s reaction when she saw it.

CCA’s Link program is a community network of caring people and organizations that unites local families facing serious pediatric illness with connections to local and national resources. The program helps families with specific, essential needs, from providing a child with a new pair of eyeglasses to granting the wish of a child with a terminal illness. Other CCA programs that prescribe joy to families with seriously ill children and teens include:

• Chemo Pal Mentor® Program, an award-winning program that matches children and teens with trained adult mentors who provide friendship, diversion, and fun to kids undergoing treatment.
• MyMusicRx, a one-of-a-kind music medicine program that lets “kids prescribe” the music experience that feels right to them. The in-hospital program includes bedside sing-a-longs led by trained music specialists, instrument lending from customized mobile music carts, concerts, and iPad and headphone check-outs. The online extension, MyMusicRx.org, is the only digital music program of its kind; it enables seriously ill kids to play and download free music games, explore digital instruments and watch exclusive video song prescriptions from their favorite artists – whenever and wherever, 24/7.
• The Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin™, a secluded home along the Pacific Coast, nestled in 24 acres of surrounding woods with plentiful wildlife and a serene lake, provides an essential health connection with nature and an extraordinary place for families to relax and create once-in-a-lifetime memories.

Links:

• Visit CCA's Homepage