SEBASTOPOL, CA -- Nobody likes to think about the possibility of
his or her child having to go into the hospital. But it happens. In
fact, over three million children in the U.S. are hospitalized each
year. The experience can be difficult for everyone, but knowing how to
prepare and what to expect can help ease that stress.
Your Child in the Hospital: A Practical Guide for Parents,
2nd edition by Nancy Keene and Rachel Prentice is
indispensable for families who are planning for or suddenly faced with
a child's hospitalization. Newly revised and updated, it's chock
full of tips and wisdom from veteran parents that will help make a
child's hospital stay a bit easier. Children tend to mimic how
their parents respond in stressful situations. This book will help
alleviate the emotional stress, for both parents and children, that
goes along with a child's hospitalization.
A child's hospital stay can sometimes leave family members
feeling vulnerable and helpless. Children are separated from siblings,
friends, pets, and the familiarity of home. Your Child in the
Hospital describes how to make the most of the facilities,
liven up the atmosphere, and make the stay as pleasant as
possible.
Whether it's for stitches, outpatient surgery or longer stays,
this book contains simple, no-nonsense advice on how to make
hospitalizations easier for the whole family. Topics covered include:
- Preparing a child
- Going to the emergency room
- Dealing with doctors
- Brightening the room
- Keeping in touch with school
- Coping with procedures
- Getting help
- Handling insurance claims
This second edition also includes journal pages that help children
express their feelings with words or drawings.
This is the only parent guide dealing with childhood
hospitalization. It provides accessible, non-threatening, practical
information for parents who want to be proactive with their child's
healthcare. Parents who read Your Child in the Hospital
will find a useful tool to help their child, and themselves, have a
positive hospital experience.
About the Authors
Nancy Keene lives in Washington State and is busy writing
and raising two daughters. She has been involved with the medical
world for over two decades -- both as a caregiver and a patient. She
has spent years advocating for and supporting her young daughter
through intensive treatment for acute leukemia. From these
experiences, Nancy has developed a
personal philosophy of patient empowerment through knowledge and
attitude.
Nancy is the author of two other books, Childhood Leukemia: A
Guide for Families, Friends, and Caregivers and Working with
Your Doctor: Getting the Healthcare You Deserve.
Rachel Prentice is a graduate student at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. She worked as a newspaper reporter for eight
years in Washington State, New Mexico, and Rome, Italy, focusing on
science, environment and government issues.
Your Child in the Hospital: A Practical Guide for Parents,
2nd Edition
by Nancy Keene & Rachel Prentice
$11.95, 160 pages, paperback
ISBN: 1-56592-573-4
PUBLICATION DATE: March 1999
About Patient-Centered Guides
Patient-Centered Guides offer good, solid, thorough
information to people and their families facing the challenges of
life-threatening or life-changing diseases and conditions. Each book
provides a mix of medical background to help in making
treatment decisions, practical information, and
emotional support. With stories of people who have been there
woven throughout, the books let the patients themselves decide which
issues are important. Your Child in the Hospital, 2nd
edition is the latest title in the Patient-Centered Guide
series. Others include:
Patient-Centered Guides is a division of O'Reilly &
Associates, Inc. O'Reilly is recognized worldwide for its definitive
technical books on the Internet, programming, and UNIX, and in the
U.S. for its award-winning Travelers' Tales series of travel
literature.
