The Christmas tree in 7-month-old Myheir's hospital room is like no other.
Upon the boughs are more than two dozen colorful strands of beads, each telling an important story in Myheir's medical journey and honoring his courage.
"Each bead symbolizes a hospital admission, a new medicine, a dressing change or a needle poke. His strands include clinic visits and overnight hospital stays, as well as nutrition changes," said Myheir's mother Nickei Foltz.
She received her son's first bead on a day she was feeling down about his hospitalization. It was given to her by Brielle Kurth, a child life specialist at UC Davis Children's Hospital.
Child life specialists offer beads to children with a chronic illness, as well as pediatric hematology-oncology, cardiac and NICU patients. The beads come from a national organization called Beads of Courage®, which supports the psychosocial and emotional needs of hospitalized children.
The beads are something that he will always have to show what he has been through and his bravery and his strength."-Nickei Foltz
"The Beads of Courage® program allows families to track milestones throughout their hospitalization," said Kurth, who also gave Foltz a journal to detail her son's medical experiences. "It can give kids a feeling of ownership over their accomplishments and it's also a great way to educate siblings about what the patient is going through."
In Foltz's case, the strands show the passage of time – bead by bead – and an opportunity to be reminded of, and reflect on, the courage displayed while coping in the hospital. Myheir has been at UC Davis Children's Hospital since he was transferred from Redding at two months old with an atrioventricular canal defect in his heart.
"The beads are something that he will always have to show what he has been through and his bravery and his strength," Foltz said.
This program is made possible through donations from Donut Dash, the nonprofit organization that has funded the Beads of Courage® program at UC Davis Children's Hospital.
The Christmas trees were donated to pediatric hospital rooms by the Anna French family.
