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 As an actress and children’s author, I’ve dedicated most of my life to making people smile. But that’s not such an easy thing to do for a child who is facing serious illness or injury. I know this firsthand.
When my son, Tom, was five, he fell off a teeter-totter and ruptured his spleen. I hate to even remember those first few hours. Seeing a little child in such pain, much less my own son, was horrifying. Never in my life had I felt so helpless. Nothing I could say or do seemed to ease his anxiety or pain.
As you can imagine, I did my best at the hospital to remain calm and show my son confidence that he would be okay. But inside, my heart was breaking as I watched him endure blood draws and saw the fear sweep over his face as the IV line was inserted. Then the nurses rolled in the Starlight Starbright Fun Center. I will never forget that moment as long as I live.
It was about midnight, far too late for a five-year-old to be up, much less waiting for surgery to save his life. As my son began to engage in the interactive, fast-paced video games on the Starlight Starbright Fun Center, he was completely transformed. His anxiety and pain gave way to happiness, playfulness and distraction.
From then on, the whole hospital experience changed for both of us, and I came away with a conviction that night: we need Starlight Starbright in EVERY community! Their programs do so much for suffering children like my son.
What my son and I went through that night is just a taste of what families of children with cancer, heart disease, cystic fibrosis and other life-threatening conditions go through for weeks, months and even years on end.
I truly believe in the work that Starlight Starbright does and the positive impact their programs have on seriously ill children and their entire families. When a child or teenager has a serious medical condition, everyone in the family struggles to cope –parents and siblings, too. Starlight Starbright is dedicated to helping these families find some relief… to help them feel less isolated… to improve their quality of life during very difficult times.
Starlight Starbright uses entertainment and education and an amazing array of family activities to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone.
I am proud to be the national spokesperson of an organization doing so much to help seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation.
For the children,
Jamie Lee Curtis
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