The Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend was pretty quiet at the children’s hospital. The lobby was mostly empty, and the first two exam rooms we went to weren’t ready for a therapy pet visit. But in the next room my person led me to a quiet girl and her mother. At first the mother said I was not the type of therapy they were waiting for. That’s pretty funny! My person had to explain that I was being offered therapy while they waited for actual medical care. Then he understood, and we stayed until a nurse came.
The next patient we saw was the happiest girl. She was wearing a pink print dress, and when my human asked if she wanted to see a kitten, she replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!” He was very happy to visit me, and I showed him some of my tricks.
We also saw a 10-month-old girl with a cat at home. Her mother was worried that she might try to touch my ears or fur, like she does with her own cat. But he was really distracted by everything — the room, all the weird-looking equipment, the toy they gave him to keep him occupied — and after the first petting session, he forgot about me! Maybe so too.
One of my favorite patients was a boy who looked about 13 years old. He was getting an infusion, and was very happy to see me. She loves cats and she enjoyed getting paw shakes from me. On another of his visits, he saw one of our program’s therapy dogs. So my man didn’t need to explain, when he pulled out his Instamatic camera, those pictures were free.
I briefly visited with a girl in a leg cast in the lobby before heading to surgery and rehab. The staff was away with the surgery patient so the reception area was empty. So my man took a picture of me with all their holiday decorations. Usually he wouldn’t have because he was worried about getting in the way.
Then in rehab, there was only one patient, and it was the older teenager I last saw with only one leg. He practices PT tasks that most people neglect, such as picking up objects on the floor. He took a break to hug me for a few minutes before returning to his exercises.
So even though it was a quiet day, it was all about quality time.
