.... okay, actually it is the same thing BUT these kids need it (and not in their faces)!
Botox paralyzes muscles. That's what it does! The way muscles work (for those who don't know) is that each muscle has an opposing one that allows us to move our bodies. With each movement, muscles oppose one another. In many people with cerebral palsy or other illnesses that effect their muscles, they experience contracture with some of those, where one (or many) muscles in a limb are too tight to stretch. Botox is injected into those muscles, which relaxes them and allows for stretching and physical therapy to take place. It takes about 7 days to take full effect. In our rehab clinic at the hospital, kids come in every 4 months or so to get those injections.
Our body is full of TONS of muscles, so the kids who come in usually need multiple shots. Even though the needle is tiny, it still hurts, and the muscles that need the injections are so specific that the kids have to be entirely still during the procedure. Why am I telling you all this? Because today I spent the entire day doing procedural support in this clinic, and it was fantastic!
The kids who come in typically get EMLA cream where the injections will be, which helps to numb the skin. The only thing about that is that it takes 30+ minutes to really take effect, during which the kids are sitting and waiting. in anticipation. of shots. That's where the Music Therapists (and interns) come in! We start by building rapport and playing/doing music tasks before the procedure to help calm the kids and provide some fun distraction, and then we stay through the needle sticks to help that calm environment and provide more distraction during it. As someone who had lots of scary needle sticks growing up, I can say that music helped distract me, but being held down was the WORST part.
It was a little strange being on the other side of those shots, and being there when the kids are crying and screaming (because really, needles hurt and nothing we do is going to keep a kid in pain completely calm), but it was wonderful being there and seeing those kids look up at me and reach toward the guitar or ipad (more on that later) and just have that moment where even though they are NOT happy, they have something they can focus on that they like. As my first kid (a 5-year-old veteran of botox) said when I walked in, "yeah! and you stay here the WHOLE TIME!" with a huge smile on his face.
That's why I love procedural support in this unit. I get to be the "music lady". I'm fun and they trust me, and that little bit of extra support during those needle sticks helps!
I LOVE this post! It's so neat to hear about procedural support in the real world and not just in class. Was it difficult? How did you plan beforehand?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear about the iPad!
So glad you liked the post! I was definitely a little nervous going into botox treatments, because I wasn't sure how I would handle kids crying and needles, but when you are there, your role is to be that extra support for that kid. Luckily for us, we have notes from previous botox appointments that say what worked well before and during the procedure. Other than that, it's a bunch of educated guesses. We just pack a HUGE bag of tricks!
ReplyDeleteHope that answers your questions!
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