My name is Todd Macdonald. I have been living here in Japan now for 28 years. Now, I am fighting for these children with cancer.
Childhood cancer is the number one cause of death for children in
Japan after accidents. A child is diagnosed with cancer in Japan about
once every 3-4 hours each day. While the prognosis for many childhood
cancers has improved significantly, the treatment process is still
long and grueling. Children undergoing treatment for cancer in Japan
are generally hospitalized for quite a long time – 6 months to one
year or more. This puts an incredible burden on the patients and on
the family supporting them. For example, mothers go to the hospital
daily, staying from early morning until their child goes to sleep at
night. By necessity, their world becomes the hospital, even if this is
at the expense of spending time with the rest of their family. For the
children undergoing cancer treatment, hospitalization can be isolating
(often children under 12 are not allowed to visit the cancer ward) and
frustrating. Most kids in treatment really want nothing more than to
do normal kid things – like play with friends, eat what they want and
go to school.
Children receiving treatment for cancer and other serious
illness undergo enormous stress. A facility dog can provide great
relief and encouragement during this challenging process.
A facility dog is a kind of specially trained therapy dog that
provides love and companionship to patients at
hospitals.
Facility dogs (unlike usual hospital visiting therapy
dogs) work full time and live with a staff member who receives
intensive training and is certified in Animal Assisted Therapy.
Patients are encouraged and comforted by the dog’s wonderful,
non-judgmental nature and benefit both physically and emotionally from
their daily interactions with these very special dogs.
Children’s Hospital rooms are visited and encourage the patients
to pet Bailey/Yogi and/or play with a ball. Sometimes Bailey/Yogi goes
onto a child’s bed to sleep beside them. Bailey/Yogi often sit with a
patient during difficult treatments procedures and even walk together
with a patient to the operating room.
When children meet Bailey/Yogi, it is just amazing how
everything about them changes – they completely relax, they become
happy! We hear so many comments like,’With Bailey, I can overcome
painful and tough treatments.”If Yogi is with me, I can undergo an operation.’
The facility dog supports not only patients but their families,
too.And I also often hear that that a facility dog provides affection
and comfort to people working in the hospital – easing stress or
tension at hospital and improving the work environment.”
Facility dogs go to the hospital everyday just like medical staff and
work with patients on a regular and ongoing basis. As a result,
patients are able to develop a true relationship with the dog. The
facility dog can visit a child bedside, sit next to them during a
scary or painful medical procedure or test, or even go to the ICU and
get on a bed and sleep next to a child who is unable to move.
Emotionally, the patients look forward to seeing the dog everyday,
which can be a huge source of encouragement especially during tough
medical treatments.
Also, because of the dog’s and the handler’s special training,
they can actually work as a team with medical staff to plan, implement
and achieve specific psychological and physical therapy goals (Animal
Assisted Therapy). By working with patients everyday, hospital staff,
caregivers and family come to view and respect the facility dog’s
impact on a child’s treatment journey. And of course there is one more
advantage to a full-time facility dog – he or she makes EVERYONE in
the hospital smile – from people working in administration and
management to the doctors and nurses. And a happy hospital staff is a
very important and positive thing!
The picture below is of me holding a drawing that a 4 year old girl with cancer drew for me. She knows that I will be fighting
