Philanthropy-powered services foster creativity and happy memories during cancer treatment

Looking across the grassy plains Aile, 7, spots a family of elephants taking a drink at their local watering hole. As they turn a corner, her mom Taryn points out the pack of lions taking an afternoon nap. Aile smiles as her mom wheels her around and around the halls of Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital to discover more wildlife.

Aile began chemotherapy in May 2022 after a bone marrow biopsy determined she had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

“It just happened so fast,” Taryn recalls. “Within 24 hours we found out we were going to be in the hospital for 14 to 30 days. Since then, we have been putting our trust in the talented Mary Bridge team and taking it one appointment at a time.”

During Aile’s first (of many) inpatient stays, she met the donor-supported Child Life Services team.

“Child life is a vital part of our health care team,” Aile’s oncologist Vanessa Tolbert, MD, says. “Our patients and families are going through the scariest moments in their lives, and we need to care for them from all angles to help them on the path to recovery. When kids have prolonged admissions, it’s normal to get bored and for their spirits to fall. Child Life keeps them active and entertained, even helping them maintain a schedule to keep the patient and family participating in their care. This focus helps our patients heal faster, eat better and cope more meaningfully with their situation.”

For Aile, this included her care team printing out photos of animals and posting them around the halls so she and her mom could go on a safari, or laying out dress-up clothes so she could have fashion shows with Barbies and scavenger hunts with the nurses.

“Activities like the safaris are very important in the hospital because it gives the patient a chance to take control of what they are doing during their day but also promotes their creativity and some normalization of their day,” Alyssa Salangsang Hamilton, certified child life specialist says. “Aile always has amazing new ideas on how to make the hospital a little more fun not only for herself but for other kids who are in the hospital.”

During hospital admissions, Aile can be found in Piper’s Playhouse drawing a masterpiece, wheeling around on a lily pad or chatting with nurses and staff in the hallways — she never misses greeting new staff as they start their shift.

Aile’s perspective on her diagnosis is bright. Instead of seeing the hospital as a scary place, Aile says it’s a “fun place with nice people.”

Smiley Aile, the future architect

When Aile finishes treatment, she’ll have endured more than two years of chemotherapy. It’s not an easy journey for anyone, but when you talk to Aile, she’s nothing but smiles. Her mom says she’s so proud of Aile’s positivity and strength. She’s also grateful for the Mary Bridge Children’s team that has been supporting their entire family for months.

“From the nurses, anesthesiologists, technicians and oncologists to support staff, we’ve felt taken care of and supported from the moment we were admitted,” Taryn says.

“Over the last eight months we’ve made bonds with nurses, staff and child life specialists. We’ve played in Piper’s Playhouse, rode in wagons and on lily pads and participated in floor-wide search and finds. We thank Mary Bridge every day for the help, support and kindness while our youngest battles ALL.”

Aile takes every day in stride, caring for others and always drawing, dreaming and creating hoping to one day become an architect.

“Working with kids like Aile is the best part of this job,” Dr. Tolbert says. “Despite what she’s going through, she and her family stay positive and are always smiling. She’s always drawing us pictures and making us smile as well. Her family takes this journey one step at a time, and we are lucky to be able to walk through it with them.”

Teams like Child Life Services are made possible through donor support. You can help provide these programs for kids and families like Aile’s with a gift at supportmarybridge.org.

“It’s important for donors to support our work because without them, there’s a lot that we wouldn’t be able to do to support children and families,” Alyssa says. “We’re so lucky to have a community that donates toys, crafts and our tools to continue to do our work and help make the hospital a friendlier place for them. This allows for us to continue to be creative with care which is giving back to the kids in the community who come to Mary Bridge.”