Illin' 2 Chillin

Every Wednesday evening since 1993, Lyssa has been a co-leader of the "Wednesday Night Playroom Session." Lyssa would arrive on the unit with shopping bags full of art and party supplies saying, "I really should have brought the shopping cart or taken a cab, but I have the most amazing stuff that we can use tonight with the kids and my mom picked up some things at her local craft store. Who are the kids for the playroom tonight? How was Morrell's session at camp? Did Jennifer go home? What happened with Narcy's blood test? Did Janai's sister like the birthday card she made for her?"

In addition to her work on the inpatient unit, Lyssa also volunteers as a counselor at the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Gang summer camp. We have been able to refer several of our sickle cell patients to the camp. Morrell, age 16, has been three times and will return next summer as a counselor in training.

I think that one of my favorite of Lyssa's parties was "Christmas in July." We had a medical student dress up as "surfer dude Santa" to pass out overflowing gift bags. We also made the popular, kid-friendly dessert "Dirt" which is always guaranteed to turn the stomach of anyone over the age of 9. "Dirt" consists of layers of crushed up Oreo cookies, chocolate pudding, and those creepy gummy worms, served in a terra cotta flowerpot. It is still debatable whether it is more fun to make dirt or eat dirt.

Stephen Campbell, A.T.R.
Supervising Children's Counselor
Inpatient Pediatrics

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