It may be gloomy outside but inside Cook Children’s Hospital Shannon Jones and her art program are cheering up patients every day.
“Right now I have to come in about twice a week because they have to take my platelets count and blood count,” said patient Bradlee Barker. “It gets my mind off things. It’s pretty much to help us relax from not thinking about what we’re going through.”
It is the Creative Artist and Residential Program and it’s been helping patients cope for 3 years.
“For children and teenagers like Barker it allows them to take their mind and relax it,” said founder of the Art Program Shannon Jones. “It’s an escape for them. They use their imaginations and it takes them to another land than being in their hospital room hooked up to an IV machine getting their medicines.”
The versatile art program helps patients like Barker to get a better handle on their current situation.
“We can do collages,” said Barker. “We can paint. We can do beading. We can pretty much do anything you can think of.”
During today’s treatment Barker focused on something very important.
“I drew pretty much what has supported me through what I’ve been going through, and its pretty much my life,” said Barker. “I was scared. It helped me take my mind off it and relax.”
This reaction is exactly what Jones is hoping for.
“I think the purpose for me within this art program is for it to be more of a therapeutic manner allowing the kids to find something that they really can tap in to and connect with,” said Jones.
For Jones it’s all about the positive reactions she sees within the program.
“When I have a patient who’s done a canvas and that they’ve felt so genuinely proud of, I actually am dancing on my toes,” said Jones. “I’m jumping up and down and just this huge grin comes across my face.”
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January 26th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Great story, Erica. Super cute stand up, too :)
February 13th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Erica,
This was a good story subject, but just a few things. Never start a story with a stand up. Your firs piece of video and your last piece of video should be solid book ends that set the tone.
You should have started this piece with the boy and some natural sound. Also break up a lot of that track with pops of natural sound. Take me there. Make me feel like I’m there.
Don’t confuse the viewer. Around 1:25 you start a soundbite, but you see the woman talking to the kid. Make up your mind. You can’t have her flapping her lips, but using sound from something else. If you’re going to use audio with other video, make sure the person you are using for a bite, is not talking in the other video.
I would dump the opening standup. It did not wow me. I hope my critique helps.
R. Deal
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