As Madisyn Thompson sat in her hospital room at West Tower, all she could think about was her surgery the next day. Her mind swept through a flood of conflicting emotions and thoughts until she got a surprise visit from a furry visitor.
“I was so happy to see her and interact with her,” Madisyn said, as she combed her fingers through the soft fur behind Elsa’s ears. “She made my day because she is really lovable and sweet.”
Madisyn is one of several Texas Children’s patients already benefitting from the hospital’s new facility dog program that launched this month. The program uses animal-assisted therapy to improve the emotional well-being of pediatric patients by reducing their anxiety, perception of pain and fear of hospitalization.
“We knew having a facility dog here full time, Monday to Friday, would allow us to really target that patient population who could really benefit and show enhanced outcomes through work with a therapy dog,” said Mary Tietjens, assistant director of Child Life and Social Work.
Elsa and her handler Sarah Herbek begin their shift bright and early around 8 a.m. After Herbek reviews the consults for the day, she and Elsa begin seeing patients in West Tower from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break in between patient visits.
“We provide goal-oriented therapeutic interventions to patients who have been hospitalized due to a traumatic event such as victims of abuse or patients who have chronic pain,” said Herbek, a Child Life specialist and animal-assisted therapy coordinator. “We also work alongside physical and occupational therapists to provide a little bit of encouragement and motivation to patients who are rebuilding their motor skills or who need to ambulate after surgery.”
For Madisyn, spending a few minutes with Elsa helps her focus less on her illness and more on the unconditional love and comfort that a therapy dog provides.
“It takes your mind off things and it distracts you from everything going on and the stress and all the feelings that go through your head when you have some spare time to sit and think,” Madisyn said.
Madisyn’s mother couldn’t agree more as she tearfully recalls the heart-warming moment when Elsa walked in to her daughter’s room.
“You see your child and you see the light going out of their eyes,” Jessica Thompson said. “When Elsa walked in, my daughter’s face lit up. She’s been excited about the whole experience.”