I hate these words “lets get some lab work.”
My daughter, Mary, is a terrible stick. Her blood flows sooo slowly. Her veins collapse and they are hard to see in the first place. There has been one person at the children’s hospital that has been able to stick her on the first try, but do we ever see her anymore???
The only thing that help Mary get through this is music. I sing her favorite songs and have brought her little MP3 player to the lab while she is sitting there with her arm out. She is focusing on listening to the tunes more than what is happening to her arm. It isn’t always a miracle-worker, but it usually helps.
I have also sung to her while she gets her ears look at. This is not a favorite activity, either.
Singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and “Mary had a Little Lamb” are very comforting to Mary. And if I am feeling real generous, I might sing the theme to “Dora the Explorer.”
On one occasion, Mary was taken to the infusion room because there was so much trouble getting her blood. I requested the music therapist from the hospital to help her at that time. They were able to get the MT there and she sang some Disney tunes for Mary and played her guitar. Mary loved looking at the guitar and listening to it. It was an excellent distraction during what turned out to be a 45 minute blood draw for two vials of blood.
Have you ever sung to your child to help them through something? Does your child have certain songs that are comforting for them? Are there any other things you do to help your child deal with a painful situations?