Raven's Story
Please Note: The dog in the accompanying photograph is the subject of the story, but the child or teenager pictured is probably not the patient in the story.Raven's first visit to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Childrens Hospital was an experiment. Regular therapy dog visits had not been approved for patients in Intensive Care, and the staff was divided about whether these kids could really benefit from interaction with a dog.
Raven visited briefly with both of the children she was scheduled to visit, and we were about to leave when a nurse approached us. She said that her patient was really much too sick for a dog visit, but the teenager had seen us walk in, and she wanted Raven to come visit her. The nurse told me not to get too close to the bed and not to stay too long in the room. When we walked in, the young girl smiled at Raven and asked us to come closer. I pulled a chair over next to the bed and told Raven to get on the chair. The girl wanted to pet Raven, but she was connected to so many lines and machines that she simply could not reach. Seeing the problem, Raven climbed gently over the arm of the chair, put her front paws on the bed, and put her head down on the girl's chest. Now the teenager could easily pet Raven, and she was soon laughing and talking to the dog. The patient's Mom began to cry because she was so happy that her daughter was smiling for the first time since she had been hospitalized. Her Dad just shook his head in disbelief, and told me how grateful he was. The nurse was astounded. She wanted to know what kind of command I had given Raven to make her climb half way on to the bed. I answered honestly that I hadn't said anything. Raven just knew what to do.
The teenager and I had a wonderful conversation about pets, while she petted Raven. When I asked her if she would like me to take a picture of her with Raven, she said yes. As I turned around to get my camera, I saw that several doctors and nurses had quietly gathered in the doorway, just watching the teenager interact with Raven. One of them asked me to take a picture for the ICU Newsletter. Another wanted a picture for the bulletin board. At that point I knew that the skepticism was disappearing and that the staff was beginning to understand the magical effect dogs can have on very sick children.
Soon after Raven's visit, the decision was made to permit therapy dogs to visit the patients in Intensive Care on a regular basis.
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