Coping with a Hospital Stay

At Ranken Jordan, pediatric psychologists are always available to help children and their families. Psychologists can identify and treat depression, anxiety, and behavioral concerns. They also provide caregiver support and help children and families cope with injuries and manage stress.

If you or your child feel overwhelmed, anxious, scared, guilty, helpless, or upset, notify a team member. We can help you talk to your child about their injury, prepare for return to the community, develop a good home routine, manage challenging behaviors, and talk to others about your child’s injury.

In addition, our certified child life specialists are a key part of the team. They create a schedule and routine for your child as well as provide coping strategies, distraction and support during spinal cord injury care.

Through age-appropriate explanations and preparations such as medical play, a child life specialist helps children understand and prepare for procedures and during their stay.

With a focus on families, Ranken Jordan offers several resources to support and educate siblings through our child life specialists. Our team can answer your questions and provide age appropriate information to siblings about your child’s injury to reduce anxiety. We also can help them understand what life may look like once their sibling comes home. In addition, we help children, and their families learn how to play in new and adaptive ways.

We encourage caregivers to keep your routine at home as normal as possible, including sending siblings to school and other activities.

A psychiatrist is also part of the medical team. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who is trained in providing support and in managing emotional symptoms medically that may arise after a traumatic event, such as depression, anxiety, or trauma symptoms.

If you or your child feel overwhelmed, anxious, scared, guilty, helpless, or upset, please notify a team member. We can help you talk to your child about their injury, prepare for return to the community, develop a good home routine, manage challenging behaviors, and talk to others about your child’s injury.

Children and teenagers are resilient; however, a spinal cord injury can greatly affect their behavior and mental health. Each child will have a different response.

Your child may experience depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, body image changes, and behavioral changes after spinal cord injury. Please talk with a team member if you have concerns about how your child is coping.

Some emotional and behavioral responses children and teens may have at any point after a spinal cord injury include:

• Difficulties with short-term memory, concentration and problem solving.
• Failing grades, disinterest in school, friends, and previously enjoyed activities.
• Generalized fear and anxiety.
• Nightmares, fear at night, and difficulty falling or staying asleep.
• Regressive behaviors such as bed-wetting, baby talk, thumb sucking, and whining.
• Attachment anxiety such as clinging and excessive concern about parent leaving.
• Physical symptoms with no medical cause such as stomach aches, headaches, etc.
• Increased tantrums or meltdowns about seemingly small things.
• Arguing, fighting, or irritability.
• Older teens may have an increase in risky or “acting out” behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual behaviors, delinquent behavior, skipping school, etc.

• Frequent thoughts or dreams about the injury
• Avoiding reminders of what happened
• Difficulty sleeping or focusing
• Feeling sad, anxious, or irritable
• Not feeling able to take time for self-care
• Being overly concerned about safety

These responses often go away after the first few weeks in the hospital. For others, they may continue for a long time.

Feelings of guilt or asking “What if” questions are common for caregivers after an injury. If you are experiencing feelings of guilt, remember that accidents happen, and you are doing everything you can to help and support your child. These feelings are normal, and it can be helpful to talk about them.

• Eat healthy food.
• Relax (read a book, take a bath, get a massage, take a walk).
• Exercise.
• Get enough sleep.
• Know your limits.
• Answer questions from others and have visitors only when you feel ready.
• Talk to supportive friends and family.

• Your nurse, who can connect you with other people to talk with
• A psychologist or mental health counselor
• Your faith community
• Other families who have gone through something similar