CHASE @ Christopher's Tour: Recap & Reflections

On Tuesday 9 June, I was privileged to tour CHASE at Christopher's, the hospice facility in Guildford, with Sian's sister Jade and other Help an Angel volunteers. CHASE closed the hospice for staff training and a few public tours, so we essentially had the entire place to ourselves. Viewing every major room in the facility was a great opportunity to see CHASE's impact on these families' lives. I've included a few links to photos on my personal flickr page. My batteries went flat during the tour, so I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked. I apologize in advance.

Community Manager Jackie Collins started us off in the Hobbies Room, a bright area allowing the kids to explore their creative side. Just outside in the hallway, we saw some of Sian's work and a great picture of the young lady.

We moved to the Family Accommodation area, where up to four families can stay while children are at the hospice being treated. To maximize outreach, CHASE limits any individual child's stay at Christopher's to 15 days a year. The family flats give the child's parents and siblings the chance to relax while still being close at hand.

As CHASE serves children up to nineteen years of age, they are very clear that teenagers are a different breed and have a unique set of needs. Christopher's accommodates for this through the Den, a home cinema junkie's heaven with a huge HD screen, surround sound, three Xbox 360s (!), and a set of CD mixing decks! I had always been boastful of my projector-based home theatre in Reading, but I think these teens have me beat.

Another favourite stop on the tour was the Multi-Sensory Room (MSR). This room is essentially based on the idea that any nervous system needs a balanced amount of stimuli in order to function properly, and the amount of sensory activities in the room (lights, waterbed, soft music, et al.) provide different ways to integrate sensory input.  As a highly sensitive person,  I was very drawn and could probably be very happy alternating between this room and the Den.

Of course, there is sensory play material along all the hallways to help younger children get a full experience, and the material also extends to the Sensory Courtyard. The courtyard is a central garden area with lots of aromatic plants, water fountains, ceramic and glass sculptures, wind chimes, and percussion instruments. It's a great place to sit and relax or have some serious fun!

We also saw a number of other rooms including the Garden Room, which serves as a quieter meeting place. Christopher's also offers complimentary therapies if families and staff are interested in reflexology, Indian Head Massage, and aromatherapy treatments. It also features a soft play (bounce) room and pool/jacuzzi.

What really impressed me about the entire tour was the emphasis on therapeutic benefit. Arts and crafts can help with mobility, sensory input, and emotional processing. The jacuzzi offers hydrotherapy. Play rooms offer a chance for challenge, stress release, or security depending on what's needed. While each room performs a different function, they each contribute to the goal of making a life-limited child's experience the fullest it can possibly be.

For me, the most powerful stop on the tour was the special bedroom suite known as MISTRAL. Losing children to illness is the reality of CHASE's work, and they have two special suites with temperature-controlled bedrooms where a child may rest for up to ten days after death. This space gives a family time to grieve while still feeling connected not only to the child but also the CHASE community. The suites have a reserved garden, offering a place of safety and privacy without risk of isolation. The garden features a beautiful water globe and a rill where families can lay a decorated pebble in their child's memory. Children's memories are also recorded in a memory book, often stored in the Sanctuary, the multi-faith room across the hall from MISTRAL. While nearly every child leaves CHASE, none of them are forgotten.

Though I didn't see Christopher's as it normally functions, my time there gave me much more clarity on not only what CHASE does but why I'm supporting them. I turned 34 this month, and most of the children at Christopher's don't make it halfway there. While many of my peers assure me that my life has been more interesting than theirs, I tend to see it has simply being blessed with a number of opportunities and choosing to take advantage of them. Most of said opportunities are ones the CHASE kids will never have, and realizing that puts my stressors in a completely different context.

This walk isn't about supporting a good cause. It's not about giving back to the community. It's not about feeling good that you've done something nice for somebody else. It's not about helping me, Jade, or the members of Clone. It's about making a difference in a child's life right now because in reality right now is the only time any of us really have. Payday is just around the corner, so donate online right now. If you live in the UK or have any UK contacts, re-read the How You Can Help right now and email me ways you're interested in helping whether it's walking, walker support, corporate sponsors, or event setup.  Expand the walk's online presence by joining the Facebook group or tweeting it.

Whatever you choose to do, I thank you deeply and sincerely... right now. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” - Aesop, courtesy of Philip Arnold