Children's hospice services - great help in times of great suffering
A very serious, sad topic, but one that is incredibly important. And interestingly, if you take a closer look, it also has many beautiful, cheerful aspects. It's about children's hospice work.
Unfortunately, there are always children who suffer from a very serious, life-shortening illness. And especially for families in which such a child lives, there is children's hospice work - outpatient and inpatient.
What many people don't realise: Children's hospice work is also responsible if, for example, a parent is very, very seriously or terminally ill or dies. We paediatricians are of course aware of this, but it sometimes goes unnoticed in everyday practice.
That's why it's extremely important to emphasise that these supportive measures exist. Because, as you can easily imagine, families who are struck by such a blow of fate experience an enormous emotional burden. It is also an extreme physical burden. Siblings suffer greatly. There are so many stressful aspects to these situations that it is impossible to list them all here.
Instead, I would like to point out that very, very valuable work is being done in this area. Here in the Rems-Murr district by the two outpatient children's hospice services Sternentraum and Pusteblume. There is a really great inpatient children's hospice in Stuttgart. The nearest one outside our region is in the Allgäu, the St. Nikolaus children's hospice in Bad Grönenbach.
Finally, two more tips: Although these services are co-financed to some extent by health insurance companies, they rely heavily on donations. So if you would like to donate a few euros to a good cause, please think of these organisations. And, if you know families who are suffering from such serious health problems, then tell them about these services and talk to them about them.
Further interesting tips
Cough
"Houston, we have a problem," was the emergency call from the Apollo 13 mission. In the paediatrician's office, it's "Cough, do we have a problem?" Because a cough, even a long-lasting cough, does not automatically mean that there is a serious problem.
Bark/ground lichen
A small and also a little bit disgusting clinical picture, which does not occur so rarely, is bark lichen. How do you recognise it and how is it treated?
Eye smears (baby)
A topic for parents of babies. A common reason why parents come to the practice with their baby is that their child's eye is oily. Parents notice that the eye is a little red and very sticky and that there may be a yellowish "smudge" in the eye. The parents then usually think that the eye is suppurating - but this is almost never the case.