Easing the Way for Kids and Families

“My goal is always to help patients have better days,” says Risi Idiokitas, DAOM, LAc. As a member of our PANDA Palliative Care team, she provides acupuncture, acupressure, massage and other Chinese medicine treatments to patients with serious and life-limiting illnesses. She works with children in several inpatient units, including Oncology. “Whether they have a headache, nausea or just a lot of anxiety, I’m there to help them feel better.”

 

She also treats patients in our Sickle Cell Integrative Care Clinic. “Acupuncture helps relieve pain in the moment for these children. I teach them self-acupressure and things that they can do at home; the clinic focuses on helping kids help themselves.”

 

Children in the hospital often face a barrage of procedures they can’t control. The choice to receive this kind of care is an opportunity to make up their own mind. Dr. Idiokitas explains to families that acupuncture heals using tiny needles that don’t hurt. “I’ll say, ‘The worst that can happen is nothing.’ Most are receptive. With treatment, the symptom we’re addressing often gets better, and there can be bonus benefits. For example, sleep may also improve.”

 

Recently, Dr. Idiokitas treated a patient for the first time for a headache. During the session, the girl and her mother spoke to each other in their native language. The mom appeared skeptical and would ask her daughter questions. Then her daughter would giggle and shrug her shoulders. When the treatment was over, the patient said she didn’t understand what had happened, but her headache was gone. Both she and her mom laughed and asked if Dr. Idiokitas could come back the following week.

 

Dr. Idiokitas says it’s rewarding to see how meaningful this therapy is for patients. “It is such a private time in these families’ lives,” she says. “To be invited in, welcomed, then asked to come back or stay longer is an honor. To know that I have positively contributed to their quality of life, that’s huge.”