Managing Kids' Chronic Pain and Anxiety with Virtual Reality
The chronic pain associated with a disease can profoundly impact a child's wellbeing, both physical and mental. Children often rely on positive and therapeutic distractions to help support anxiety and cope with pain.
That's why Starlight exists: to provide resources such as Starlight Virtual Reality that support kids like Mark and his family as they navigate the journey of living with a chronic illness.
Meet Mark
No child expects their life’s milestones to happen in the hospital.
Mark spent four birthdays, two Valentine’s Days, Thanksgiving, and Christmas at Hermann Children’s Memorial in Houston, Texas.
Hospital stays were made more difficult for him and his family as he experienced loneliness.
“Mark became depressed, and they had to send a psychiatrist to see him...it was very, very hard.” - Mark’s mom.
Days when Mark felt pain became easier through the Starlight Families program and Starlight Virtual Reality (VR) headset.
A Positive Distraction
Kids who live with sickle cell can experience pain crises that can last for hours, days, or even weeks. It can affect any part of a child’s body. When Mark experiences a pain crisis in-hospital or at home, he can use a Starlight VR headset for pain management through positive distraction. With Starlight VR, Mark is immersed in games and experiences like traversing the great forests or swinging across vines as if he was a jungle animal.
“He received the VR headset, and it really brightened his day. It was really awesome because at the time I had no money to buy him anything...I’m grateful to you all for that.” ~ Mark’s mom.
Comfort and Joy
By providing Mark with games and experiences he enjoys through the VR headset, Mark finds comfort and joy.
“When they get the gifts, you can see the magic in their eyes, you can see the excitement, you can feel that energy coming back, you can see and feel the love...thank you for what you have all done for my son.”
- Mark's mom
The gift of a Starlight program can make a tremendous difference on a child’s overall emotional and mental wellbeing, like it did for Mark Hundreds of kids will wrestle with stress, sadness, and anxiety as they stay in the hospital during life milestones.
Through the Starlight Family program, families receive resources and support that help bridge the gap between in-hospital and at-home care.
Generous and kind people like you have provided countless moments of joy to hospitalized kids and their families when they needed it most. Join 200,000 Starlight donors in making a difference in the lives of families across the country.
Donate to Starlight today to ensure that every child can experience positive distraction to improve their mental wellbeing during the most trying moments of their lives.
