A palliative care nurse has described how she helps terminally ill children in their final months of life.
Meagan Griffin works at Claire House Children's Hospice, based in Merseyside, within the rapid response team. The team support babies, children and young people who are likely to be within the final year of their life.
Part of Meagan's job is providing specialist palliative nursing care and emotional support wherever and whenever the child and family choose. The nurse and her team also "bring Claire House" to families if they are not able physically go to the hospice.
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Meagan, who shared her story following International Nurses Day on Thursday, May 12, said: "A lot of people can’t imagine what it’s like working with very sick children. Although the job can be very sad, I’ve always said that if I can’t make children better, I want to make them feel better by managing their symptoms and keeping them comfortable. In this job that is what I get to do.
"One of the nicest aspects of my role is devising wish lists with families, they are all different and often it can be the tiny things that make a difference to the memories made. Sometimes families have been in intensive care so long they just want to go for a walk with their baby in a pram or give their child a bath so they don’t smell like hospital, at Claire House we can make that happen."
Meagan said one family she recently supported just wanted to watch their favourite film in bed with their child. To do this, the Claire House team used a big cuddle bed, which was donated by the 64 Trust, to make this happen.
Meagan said it was "such a satisfying feeling". The nurse added: "I don't have an 'average' day and things can change so quickly due to the team being on call 24/7. This morning I started my day in intensive care and met a family who needed some emotional support as their child was critically unwell and another family who needed help and guidance with planning the future care for their child.
"I then met another family whose child was sadly coming to the end of their life, and we discussed all the possibilities and what was going to make the unbearable situation the best it could possibly be. We can give families the choice of whether they stay in hospital, go home, or come to the hospice.
"All of these options have specialist nursing support around the clock. Later in the day I visited a mum who had lost her son. Our support doesn’t end as soon as a child dies, we continue to care for the whole family.
"Sometimes bereavement visits can be just sitting and listening, sharing our stories about their child and reminiscing. Other visits may involve referring onto our counselling team for more specialist support."
Meagan said her team support families to plan for their uncertain future, she added: "We use the phrase ‘hope for the best and plan for the worst’ to allow families to think about all of the ‘what ifs’.
"I will often support families by attending medical meetings, translating some of the complex medical jargon and I can answer the questions that families might feel a bit daft asking a doctor."
The team offer 24 hours a day support for families, whether that is a phone call or home visit. Meagan said: "It is a huge privilege to do the job I do, and I still get a lump in my throat when I am able to help families make as many memories that they can with their child. When you’ve made something great happen, this is the best job in the world."
