These stories are designed to help children and their families navigate hospitalization and illness; they explain the emotions behind some symptoms and they present medical procedures using age-appropriate language. The 7 stories have already reached over 2000 children across the country who have been hospitalized.
Developed by psychologists with hospital work experience and based on the concepts around which the “Child Life” psycho-social support program is built, the therapeutic stories address in a creative and child-friendly way diseases and illnesses related to cardiology, surgery, orthopedics, gastroenterology, neurology (and psychiatry), pneumology, otorhinolaryngology. Each book introduces a new character, who becomes the children’s friend, and together they will go through events and incidents that will help the little patients face more easily the period of hospitalization, with all that it entails: surgery, medical procedures, treatments, etc. We consider these stories to be extremely valuable not only for children, but also for parents, becoming a tool to raise awareness of the multiple causes that can be at the root of some symptoms manifested by children.
Authors:
The stories are signed by psychologists Andreea Busuioc and Ana-Maria Ioniță, both contributing to the development of the “Child Life” Inocenti psycho-social support program at the “Dr. Victor Gomoiu” Children’s Clinical Hospital until 2021.
Illustrations:
This is not just any story, but one about the fragility of the soul, contained in the metaphor of the castle; a castle which slowly falls apart when little Amos’s emotions are no longer validated and his thoughts and ideas are drowned out by his mother’s voice and fears.
Discover the story of Tommy, a cute and rambunctious little boy! So mischievous that one day, on the football field, he hurts his leg and ends up in hospital. He shares with the readers his inner struggle with sadness, fear and impatience, emotions he feels following his accident and hospitalization.
Marta is a little girl who lives in a crystal globe, and this story is not only about her, but also about her overprotective mother and Mr Sensum, a clever and kind doctor. The story line emphasizes how fine the line is between freedom and constraint, protection and neglect, love and fear.
All our emotions, both positive and negative, are like food: we need to “digest” them. Sometimes food doesn’t agree with us, and our tummy suffers. That’s what happens to Tommy the whale, the main character in this story. Find out what emotions caused her pain.
What would it be like if one day your own shadow stopped listening to you, as if you were two different people? Lulu’s shadow, a cute little girl, is mischievous and full of energy. The situation gets so complicated that not even her parents know how to help her. Find out how Lulu and her family will manage to befriend the shadow.
Burdened with too many tasks and worries, as the defender of the forest, Lungus needs help to overcome an obstacle, but he keeps silent, feeling small and powerless… The story of the Forest Giant invites you to discover the challenges Lungus goes through when the unexpected appears in the form of “shadow-beings”.
A story full of sounds and color, whose main character is Lili, a little girl bunny. She shares the emotions she goes through when she doesn’t feel heard by her parents, who often find occasions to argue with each other. The little girl is so sad that one day all her anger is hidden somewhere in her ears and she gets a serious ear infection.