Giving Kids Courage to Keep Moving Forward

It's hard to comprehend fully the hardships cancer patients have faced and the accomplishments he or she has achieved along their treatment path. Beads of Courage, a new program at Children's, enables patients to showcase their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate personal milestones.

Allison Donohue, the program's coordinator, eagerly looked forward to implementing the formal Beads of Courage program at Children's in early Feb. "I'm excited for the patients because this program provides a positive coping strategy and lets them know that they are not alone," she explained. "Our ultimate goal is that these children become emotionally healthy as well as physically healthy."

The Beads of Courage journey starts when a child is given string and beads that spell out his/her first name. Then, colorful beads, representing a different treatment milestone, are presented to each child by his or her healthcare provider to add to the child's collection.

Each strand encourages the children to find meaning within their illness and treatment experiences to establish a sense of achievement. In addition, the beads form "visual stories" that help providers engage and interact with patients.
 
"On a day-to-day basis, staff becomes caught up in treating the child, in the process," explained Donohue. "This program gives providers a way to step back and reflect on the experiences our patients go through."

To learn more about the Beads of Courage program, please visit www.beadsofcourage.net. For more information about the program at The Children's Hospital, call Allison Donohue at 720-777-1234.