Rosalind’s Story

3-year-old Rosalind was busy enjoying summer with her family, when she got sick unexpectedly. After a few trips to their local emergency room, Rosalind ended up at HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital. Previous diagnoses ranged from a sinus infection to an allergic reaction, but the physicians at the hospital were determined to find what might be wrong. “At that time, I was an emotional mess. However, we had an idea what we were getting ourselves into,” Rosalind’s mother, Meghan, said about their visit to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Rosalind was born premature. Their family had previously spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital, so they knew the fantastic care they would receive during Rosalind’s stay. “It was like the weight of the world was taken off our shoulders the MOMENT we stepped foot into the HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital,” added Meghan.

After five days of testing, Rosalind was diagnosed atypical Kawasaki disease. It is a rare disease resulting in fevers lasting five or more days and severe rashes on the body, as well as other symptoms.

Rosalind received two IV globulin treatments to help fight off the disease. “I remember asking the doctor how many treatments she would have because we also had to place icepacks on her legs and neck to help reduce her fever and cool her down,” stated Meghan. “He mentioned that he only recalled five other cases that needed more than one treatment.” Thankfully the treatments worked, and Rosalind began showing signs of improvement.

Rosalind and her family had the Child Life team at HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital by their side whole time. They distracted her and ensured her stay was a positive experience. “We absolutely love the Child Life team!” said Meghan.

Rosalind loves dolls and anatomy, so the Child Life team spent time playing and educating her based on her interests. They placed her doll on a sheet of paper, outlined it, and began drawing in anatomy with markers and using colored pipe cleaners. A Child Life specialist brought in kid friendly diagrams on anatomy so Rosalind could learn even more about what she loved.

“This whole experience was traumatic for us as her parents, however Rosalind walked out with more love and knowledge for anatomy and we cannot thank the Child Life staff enough for that,” noted
Meghan.