|
Budding scientist
makes Bloorview
his laboratory
BY LOUISE KINROSS
Alex Coombs-Salmon has spent a
fair part of his nine years in hospital.
But it hasn’t put a damper on his inventive mind. The budding scientist at Bloorview Kids Rehab plans to attach snow shovels to his new electric wheelchair when he returns home, so he can shovel the driveway for his parents. Last week he convinced a Bloorview volunteer to conduct a basic scientific experiment with baking soda and vinegar. “We put it in a cup, put a lid on it, then watched it explode: pop, pop, pop,” he says. “He likes to investigate things, to understand,” says Alex’s dad Evan. “He loves science and technology.” Despite repeat stays at Bloorview and SickKids for care of his spina bifida and an unrelated tumour, “he doesn’t tend to worry about his problems,” Evan says. “He accepts them as is because that’s all he knows.” BLOOM interviewed Alex – sporting red happy-face slippers on his ninth birthday – to see if he could share helpful advice for other children. What is spina bifida?
It’s just a disability. It makes
things a little bit harder. It’s
easier for me to use my hands
and crawl.
What’s hard about staying at
Bloorview?
Missing my family. I have a
mom and dad and a sister and
brothers. They come to visit me
at nighttime or on the weekends.
What helps you not feel so
lonely?
I talk to them on the phone. I
would also like to recommend
recreation therapy at Bloorview to
other kids. They have lots of fun
programs, like pet therapy. On
Tuesday and Thursday, Ricky the
clown comes to visit me. He calls
me his president. I’d suggest
bringing electronics.
I brought a video camera, a lap top and an iPod. I like laughing, so I like to watch Bugs Bunny on the TV in my room. Every night I’m so excited: Bugs Bunny, here I come! What strategies have you learned
to help you feel calm?
Playing with the medical dolls
with the child life people is good
because you can see what’s
inside equipment closer up, so
you know how it works and
don’t have to be scared. I also
carry walkie-talkies. That way,
when I have to have antibiotics
put in my port, I can still talk to
one of my friends here and
check on my buddies.
I like to hold someone’s hand and sometimes I take a deep breath and blow out on something – like the nurse’s hair. The nurses here give the best care in the whole wide world. If you’re having a needle, put on the Emla magic cream, so you can’t feel it. Sometimes I like to watch people do funny things to make me laugh.
|
Alex Coombs-Salmon, 9, shares tips to beat loneliness, anxiety during hospital stays
Photography by Yvonne Duivenvoorden
|