Laura Spiegel is founder and president, Paint Her in Color.

The dark horse of the care team: a parent’s perspective on hospital chaplains

Patient
January 29, 2022

When you think of a hospital chaplain, what comes to mind? A bearer of bad news? An imminent turn for the worse? A symbol of death and dying? That’s what I used to think. Chaplains showed up in end-of-life situations, and I’d give anything to never encounter one.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Last week, I had the privilege of listening to a chaplain at my local children’s hospital as he …

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The dark horse of the care team: a parent’s perspective on hospital chaplains

The power of support for parents of children with chronic or complex conditions

Conditions
August 23, 2021

It was October 2013, and her name was Diane. There she sat in the basement of our local children’s hospital – drenched in a fluorescent glow and clutching a stale submarine sandwich. Her hair was cut into the pointiest of pixies, and her scarf had found that magical balance between perfectly styled and casually draped.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. To me, she was a Godsend.

Diane was the first …

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The power of support for parents of children with chronic or complex conditions

10 tips for delivering difficult pediatric diagnoses

Patient
December 8, 2020

On August 12, 2013, my five-week-old daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. I distinctly recall the feeling of “Everything has changed.” I had worked in the field of chronic disease for almost a decade. And yet, it had never occurred to me that this would happen. Other people’s kids might be sick, but not mine. Not my baby.

I remember our first day in the cystic fibrosis clinic like it was …

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10 tips for delivering difficult pediatric diagnoses