Opinion: The unique pain and joy of celebrating Christmas with a child in the pediatric intensive care unit
“Every Christmas since my daughter died, I have tried to run away from those memories, but this year I long to return to the PICU,” writes Maria Kefalas, author of…
In the days leading up to Christmas in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), medical teams work to send as many children home as they can. Kids should be with their people for the holidays. And it makes sense. But for parents of children receiving in-home care — parents like me — it can be a relief to surrender to the hospital’s siren song. For families like mine, the PICU can be a respite, especially during Christmas.
The nurses decorate the floors in an effort to make a place filled with monitors, ventilators, and hospital beds festive. No one believes in Santa in the PICU, but the nurses and doctors try to pretend magic and miracles are real. These efforts might seem futile, but the patients and their parents indulge this.
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