Oct 6, 2011 Posted by Jolene

4 Tips for Getting a Child Through a Blood Draw

Guest blogger Nancy Flanders is back after a short stint away from DifferentDream.com. (She was busy conducting a successful cystic fibrosis fundraiser, BTW.) As always, her post is full of practical tips for you. In it, she deals with the sticky topic of preparing a young child for a blood draw. Getting Through The Blood Draw There’s nothing I dread more than watching my daughter endure a blood... read more

Aug 30, 2010 Posted by Jolene

Do You Want Your Doctor to be a Super Hero?

When our newborn son was in the hospital fighting for his life, I wanted his doctor to be a super hero. Someone who could knock out infections with one fell swoop. Someone who could miraculously hook up his innards to make ‘em work. Most of all, someone who could take away my baby’s pain and assure us that everything would be okay. Doctors Are Human, Too In my youth and ignorance, I expected... read more

Aug 13, 2010 Posted by Jolene

4th of July Hospital Red, White & Blues

The fireworks and flags are long gone, but the holiday’s been on my mind ever since. Meet Chloe Downey The pre-occupation began with a post at Chloe Downy’s CaringBridge page. She’s a teenager who recently completed successful treatment for High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Though she’s pretty much done with doctors and hospitals, her mom often posts thoughtful items... read more

Nov 6, 2009 Posted by Jolene

10 Things to Do for Parents of Really Sick Kids

P31 Woman Magazine, a great resource for women,  published my article Wedged Between Two Worlds in their October 2009 issue. They even featured A Different Dream for My Child in their magazine book store, which was very gracious of them. Proverbs 31 Ministries Website But they did even more, posting a bonus article on their website.  If one of your friends or family members has had a hospitalized child... read more

Aug 31, 2009 Posted by Jolene

But What About Breast Feeding? Part Two

In the previous post, I explained the important role breast feeding played in our newborn son’s recovery from surgery immediately after his birth. In this post, I want to assure those of you who aren’t breast feeding for whatever reason, I am not trying to burden you with guilt or judge you in any way. That said, I encourage moms who want to breast feed, even if their newborns are struggling... read more