CHARLOTTE — Imagine being too scared to hold your child. St. Jude mental health specialist Anna Jones told Channel 9′s Deneige Broom it’s a real fear for many parents.
“For some parents, it’s giving them permission to hold their child. It can feel really scary when you see your child looking so fragile and hooked up to so many different machines,” Jones said. “I think sometimes parents feel concerned of well, if I hold them, what if I do something wrong?”
There are so many buildings on the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital campus – some for research and some for care. But they all have one mission: to end childhood cancer. And they’re able to do that with your donations and they make sure those families never receive a bill for their care, food or housing.
Jones said St. Jude treats not only the body, but the mind as well – and that extends to families. She and other professionals meet with parents, patients, and siblings because cancer is something that upends all their lives.
“Yeah, I think that’s really tough. The patients that are here require a lot of attention from their parents and the adult caregivers in their lives, and that’s understandable. They’re not feeling well. They’re going through a lot. They’re away from their home, and they need that, and that can be hard for siblings to understand,” Jones said.
Many children are diagnosed at pivotal times in their development, Jones said. So, they need care beyond their cancer treatment.
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“Music therapy does an amazing job with our littles and providing music and stimulation in that way for small children, which I do think helps so much with coping,” Jones said.
That focus on the entire family is one of the things that sets St. Jude apart, and Channel 9 is proud to partner with them for their Dream Home Giveaway.
This year’s dream home is being built in Marshville and is valued at $610,000.
Tickets go on sale April 2 at 6 a.m. They’re $100 and each one gets you a chance to win that home.
Be sure to join us that evening at 7 p.m., for a live special, right here on Channel 9.
WATCH BELOW: ‘True calling’: St. Jude helps family overcome young boy’s brain tumor diagnosis
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