Sibshops are workshops for siblings of children with special needs. Sibshops are lively, pedal-to-the-metal celebrations filled with unique games, cooking activities and recreation mixed with information and discussion. Children ages 5 - 12 yrs can enjoy a lively, relaxed event that emphasizes a kid's-eye view of sibling issues. Sibshops are guided by adult facilitators in small, age-appropriate groups.
What do kids say about Sibshops?
"Sibshops are cool. We have lots of fun." --Age 8
"You get to ask questions about stuff and get answers. No one gets mad or laughs at you for asking."--Age 10
"I got to meet other kids like me. It was great."--Age ?
What do parents say about Sibshops?
"For once, I don't feel guilty about my kids feeling left out."
"I like that he's making friends with others who understand what it's like having a family member with autism."
"Sibshops gives my daughter experience explaining about her brother-she gets help finding words from other kids to help people understand. That's something I'm not always able to do."
Click here to download Sibling Activity Booklet
2009 Sibshop Sessions
Saturday March 28th, 2009
Saturday August 15th, 2009
Saturday November 14th, 2009
Due to limited enrollment, please call toll free 1-888-460-8071 to register.
For more program information call:
Hayley Patoka, BS, CCLS, CTRS
Certified Child Life Specialist, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist
Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Children's
(715)221-7419
Sibshops are sponsored by Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital, Child Life Services
Kids Wish Network
Hero of the Month sponsored by Kids Wish Network
Kids Wish Network is a nationally recognized charitable organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children. Kids Wish Network assists children and their families through programs like the Hero of the Month Club.
The Hero of the Month program was designed to help little heroes who have had to face some of life's unfortunate experiences. These children do not have life threatening illness but rather have had to endure some extremely sad or extraordinary circumstance.
August 2009 Nominee: Amanda
Amanda is a 6-year-old girl from Marshfield, WI. On March 24th, 2009 Amanda was rushed to the emergency room following a seizure at home. She was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) where she underwent a number of medical procedures including, multiple IV starts, MRIs, CTs, EEGs, biopsies, surgeries and the placement of a feeding tube. As she slowly recovered, Amanda was diagnosed with encephalopathy. On April 4th, 2009 Amanda was transferred from the PICU to the Pediatric Unit. During her stay and recovery, Amanda definitely made the most of her time. She stayed very busy with Physical, Occupational and Speech therapy sessions to help her relearn many skills she lost because of her illness. Amanda always made time for fun though, as she enjoyed spending time in group, playing in the playroom or visiting her favorite nurses at the Nurse’s station. She always made friends quickly and had an amazing memory when it came to people’s names and faces. Amanda has a great smile and enjoyed greeting everyone on the unit. Amanda also enjoyed playing her favorite game, “Guess the Word” where you would offer up clues and she would guess the word you were thinking. Amanda also loved music therapy and would often be heard singing to a favorite song, “Winnie the Pooh”. Finally, on June 16th, 2009 Amanda was discharged from the Pediatric Unit and returned home. When Amanda comes back for clinic visits or therapies, she makes it a point to come and say hi to her friends on the Pediatric unit. She is truly a hero and inspiration in our eyes!
July 2009 Nominee: Amanda
Amanda is a bright 18-year-old diagnosed with polyposis syndrome. This is a syndrome where multiple polyps appear in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Amanda has undergone multiple surgeries, including one that included having a temporary pouch placed. She had a lengthy hospitalization where she battled many things including pain, hunger, and self-image issues. Amanda also had to have many blood draws and a PICC line placed to help her receive the nutrition and medicine she needed. She eventually went home after the first surgery, but had to be readmitted because of complications with her pouch. Amanda eventually had yet another surgery to remove her pouch. During this recovery time, it was hard for her to keep her spirits up, especially when the medical issues were only part of the battle. Amanda is also a young mother whose daughter was only 6 months old during her first surgery. During her stays at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Amanda had to overcome many great obstacles as she relied on her strong personality and drive to get her through. She also had a good support system including her mom and grandma, who were by her side as great advocates throughout her cares. Amanda is now at home and doing much better, enjoying her time with her daughter and the rest of her family. We believe Amanda most deserves of July 2009 Hero of the Month!
June 2009 Nominee: Dylan
Dylan is a 13-year-old boy who was brought to the Emergency Room at Saint Joseph’s Hospital with a gun shot wound. After admission, he was quickly transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for the accidental gunshot wound to the chest. Dylan underwent many tests/procedures upon arrival to the hospital to help assess the damage caused by the gunshot. The gunshot had caused a pooling of blood in his lungs, so tubes were placed to help reduce the fluid in his chest. Dylan also had lung bruising and trauma to his spine and intestines. It was a long road to recovery for Dylan and his family as the PICU nurses and doctors provided much needed care and support throughout his entire stay. Dylan kept a very positive attitude throughout his hospitalization and thrived on the support from his family, friends, and teachers. He enjoyed playing video games, watching movies, and socializing with other patients to cope with each day in the hospital. After many difficult days, Dylan was finally discharged and is now at home recovering. Dylan and his family had to overcome both physical and emotional struggles throughout their hospitalization. With hesitation, we would like to nominate Dylan for our June 2009 Hero of the Month!
May 2009 Nominee: Tatyana
Tatyana is an 11-year-old girl who lives with her family in Iron Mountain, MI. She was admitted to Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital on February 20, 2009 for severe abdominal pain. Since the cause of the pain was unknown, Tatyana underwent a number of tests and procedures including an endoscope, CT scan and EKG. Without any definitive results, the doctors decided try a fructose test. This required Tatyana to eat sugar cubes and then undergo multiple lab draws to see how her body processed fructose. After only a few minutes the results were clear, Tatyana was fructose intolerant. Fructose intolerance can be controlled by a strict diet, however, Tatyana was required to stay in the hospital until March 11 to help manage her pain and get her new diet under control. Since this is a rare condition, Tatyana and her family planned to go to a hospital in Cincinnati for further follow up and support. The family is also planning a trip to Boston for further help and treatment. While Tatyana was at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, she enjoyed doing many different crafts and spending time in the teen lounge with her parents. Overall, Tatyana had a difficult and long stay, but she took everything in stride and is a real hero in our eyes. We wish to nominate Tatyana for May 2009 Hero of the Month!
April 2009 Nominee: Ashley
Ashley is a six-year-old girl that came initially to Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital to have surgery performed on both her legs. She was placed in a special cast called a hip spica cast that wrapped around both her legs, hips, and came up past her belly button. After surgery, Ashley had spent time in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she could be watched more closely and where her pain could be better controlled. Eventually, Ashley transferred to the general pediatric unit where something unexpected happened. She had developed a seizure that lasted for more than an hour and was taken back to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Her casts were split to allow for swelling, but eventually had to be completely removed. Ashley underwent more tests including an MRI scan and a blood transfusion. At one point, Ashley was put on a ventilator as a direct result of her severe seizures post surgery. Ashley and her family had many rollercoaster rides while staying in the hospital and some days were definitely harder than others. After some time, Ashley was eventually moved back to the general pediatric unit as a patient in the rehabilitation program. Ashley was involved in, and introduced to many intense activities, therapies, and people throughout her days at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. Physical, occupational, and speech therapies were all part of a typical day for Ashley. Child Life was also a special part offering arts and crafts, group and bedside activities. Ashley especially enjoyed visits from her little brother and grandparents. She was even able to participate in a music group once a week and showed off her musical talent by strumming on the Q-Chord with the two Board Certified Music Therapists. Ashley spent over 45 days in the hospital and is now back home and doing better. She still continues to work hard and becomes stronger each day. We are pleased to nominate Ashley for April 2009 Hero of the Month.
March 2009 Nominee: Trevor
Trevor is a 13-year-old boy from Orangeville, Illinois. On January 17, 2009 Trevor was out snowmobiling with his dad and brother when he missed a turn, hit a group of trees, and was ejected from his snowmobile. The force of the impact cracked his helmet. He was taken to the Emergency Room at Howard Young Medical Center where he was intubated and underwent a CT that revealed the extent of his injuries. Trevor had sustained a contusion on the front of his head and his lung, damage to his spleen, and had two spinal fractures. From there he was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. He received sedation and underwent a number of procedures and surgeries, including the placement of an ICP bolt. It was expected that Trevor would recovering at SJCH for a few months. Amazingly, he started his recovery process and by January 25th, the ICP Bolt and breathing tube had been removed. Trevor was transferred from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit to the regular Pediatric Unit. While there, Trevor worked hard during his many different therapies. He put in a lot of hard work and never complained. We could all see him progress every day and in no time, Trevor was walking so fast it was hard to keep up with him! Then on February 5th2009, he was finally discharged. When Trevor left, he knew he still had a long road to recovery ahead, but he was very excited to return home. Throughout his stay, Trevor always kept a great sense of humor. He enjoyed keeping busy and attending group activities regularly. Trevor really made the most of his hospital stay, and deserves to be named March 2009 Hero of the Month.
January 2009 Nominee: Amy
Amy is a sweet and very compassionate 7-year-old girl from Chippewa Falls. Back in June, Amy was playing outside with her brothers when she fell from a wagon and broke her left arm. Amy and her mother presented to the Emergency Room and where Amy had what would be her first of many x-rays. Amy was then taken into surgery where screws were placed in her arm to better stabilize it and she was discharged from the 
hospital the following day. Amy had many follow-up appointments and x-rays during the next few months and in August, Amy was still having some discomfort and drainage from the wound. She went back to the clinic and was told that the screws in her arm seemed have to come out of the bone completely and there was also concern for a possible infection. As a result, Amy went back into surgery a few days later for a plate removal and placement of an external fixator. Amy remained in the hospital for five days and during that time, she also had a PICC line placed and again underwent surgery for insertion of antibiotic beads to cure the infection in her arm. Amy was discharged from the hospital the following day and went home with the PICC line still in place for antibiotics. After about two weeks, Amy returned for yet another surgery at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital to have the antibiotic beads removed and for an iliac crest bone graft. Amy was again discharged home and returned two weeks later to have her PICC line removed. During the month of October, Amy was seen for follow-up appointments and more x-rays which showed her arm to be healing nicely. Amy returned in the middle of November to have a CT scan and x-ray of her arm which led to the removal of the external fixator and replacing it with a protective brace. Amy routinely visits the clinic for follow-up visits and x-rays to ensure her arm is healing properly. Throughout the months of numerous clinic visits, x-rays, surgeries and hospitalizations, Amy has had a positive attitude and appears to have a great outlook on life. She is a joy to be around and although she was in pain quite often, she was not one to show it. Amy displayed a lot of strength and courage going through more than a 7-year-old girl should ever have to go through. We are very proud to nominate Amy for January 2009 Hero of the Month!
December 2008 Nominee: Michael
We would like to nominate Michael for December 2008 Hero of the Month. Michael was initially hospitalized early last summer for a week long stay due to a VP shunt malfunction in his brain. He was again hospitalized on October 23rd, 2008 for the same reason. Prior to these hospital stays, Michael did not have any problems following his VP shunt placement when he was only two months old! Early last summer, Michael was taken to surgery to fix his shunt and all seemed to be alright and working once again. He recovered quickly and was discharged home. This October, Michael was hospitalized once again for the same thing. He arrived here 
vented, unable to breathe on his own. Michael’s VP shunt had malfunctioned once again and many xrays and CT scans were required upon his arrival. He had surgery the same day to fix his VP shunt. Unfortunately, Michael’s shunt would become blocked again during his stay and he had to return to surgery once again. Following the first surgery, Michael was transferred to Pediatric ICU, then to Pediatrics and back to the PICU after the shunt blocked again. Michael had his shunt externalized while in the PICU and then internalized once again before moving back to the Pediatric unit. Through it all, Michael has kept a smile and a positive attitude throughout his entire endeavor. He had many visitors, including family and friends, to help provide support and offer encouragement through the more difficult times. We believe Michael’s sense of humor with staff and his family helped make him stronger each day. He worked very hard in physical therapy to better his balance and walk again. Because of Michael’s incredible strength and courage, we nominate him for December 2008 Hero of the Month!
November 2008 Nominee: Desiree
Desiree is a 7-year-old little girl who was near her school when she was suddenly hit by a car. She was dragged by the car and sustained very severe abrasions to her leg, ankle, and foot. She also had some abrasions and swelling on her face. Desiree was admitted to Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital where she had to undergo many x-rays and scans in her the days following her accident. She needed to be sedated for many of the procedures so the staff could clean out her deep wounds. The doctors also had to graft some skin from Desiree’s hip to cover the wounds on her foot to help heal it heal. It took Desiree’s leg a long time to heal enough before she could start walking again. She was at Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital for 19 days and started walking on the last two days of her stay. Desiree had to try to cope with her anxiety of doing dressing changes, moving her leg, ankle, and foot again and even had to get her IV restarted. These challenges, whether big or small, were all a battle to overcome. To help her through her hospital stay, Desiree was involved in Music Therapy, did many craft activities, and found comfort in medical play with her dolls/animals. Desiree has a wonderful family that was by her side through all the ups and downs. Her family was very good at cheering her up, playing games and always strived to help Desiree see the positive side of things. Desiree is a very sweet girl and has overcome so much! We believe she is the most deserving to be November 2008 Hero of the Month!
October 2008 Nominee: Marcus
Marcus is a 6-year-old child who lives with his family in Marshfield, Wisconsin after being adopted from Liberia. In Liberia, Marcus had ingested a substance called “lye” which is used to clean clothes. After this occurred, Marcus has had many problems and issues with his esophagus and swallowing. He had to have
surgery to put in a gastrostomy tube (a.k.a. G-Tube) in order to feed him because his esophagus wasn’t working the way it should. He has also had many tests done, including x-rays and ultrasounds. Also, in order to help Marcus’s esophagus work the way it should, he has had to have surgery almost every two weeks for approximately the past 6 months. He even had to spend some time in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit after one of his surgeries due to some complications. Marcus is a very charismatic 6 year old and has had many fun-filled moments despite the fact he has gone through so much. Even when he was in the intensive care unit, he participated in Music Therapy by playing the harmonica and other items; played with Play-Doh, played BINGO and other games, and watched movies. Every time he smiles, he makes others smile. His smiles are very contagious. Even though he still has a long road ahead of him, I know with his attitude and the support from his family that he will be able to overcome anything. Therefore, I would like to nominate Marcus as Hero of the Month for October 2008.
August 2008 Nominee: Matthew
Matthew is an enjoyable 8-year-old boy who lives in Ladysmith, WI with his grandparents. Matthew had been having abdominal pain on and off for three months. The pain got to a point 
where it began to interfere with his ability to be a normal 8-year-old boy. Matthew's grandparents brought him in to Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital to be evaluated. After being seen by our pediatric gastroenterologist, Matthew was admitted. He had to undergo three colonoscopies to determine what was causing the sever pain. After his first surgery they found Matthew's stomach to be severely inflamed. To help this, he was put on a liquid diet and high doses of steroids to relieve the inflammation. As you all can imagine, only being able to 'eat' a ligquid diet for a week can be very hard, especially on a child. Matthew was great through it all. He made it through this long week of hospitalization by playing his favorite computer games, board games and coming to group on a daily basis. Matthew has a wonderful imagination and personality. Staff spent many joyful hours listening to Matthew talk about his favorite computer games and stories. He is a great storyteller! When Matthew did get down and sad, he had the great support and love of his grandparents to lift him up once again. Matthew's family kept their strong bond during the most difficult times and always found the silver lining in every situation. It is with great honor, that we nominate this impressive young man for August 2008 Hero of the Month.
July 2008 Nominee: Alyssa
Alyssa is a 17-year-old young lady who was in a recent car accident with her good friend. She was wearing her seat belt, but was still ejected from the car upon impact. From this, Alyssa suffered numerous injuries. At the scene of the accident, she was complaining of headache
and right hip pain. After careful assessment, Alyssa was quickly transferred to Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI. Alyssa had multiple injuries, including right kidney, uterine, and spleen laceration, a concussion and burst fractures of T5 and T6 in her spine. Because of the abdominal injuries, Alyssa was not able to have the spinal surgery until 9 days after the accident. She had to lay flat in her bed and was not able to move because of the severity of the spinal injury. Through all of this, Alyssa kept in good spirits and did whatever was needed to aid in her recovery. After the long awaited spinal fusion surgery, Alyssa thought she was home free and on the path recovery. Unfortunately, one day later she developed a DVT in her right lower extremity. An inferior vena cava filter was placed. After 26 days in the hospital, Alyssa was finally able to go home to continue her therapy and recovery. She has been a real trooper through it all. Alyssa was a great patient to work with and has a wonderful support system of loving family and friends. It is with great honor that we nominate Alyssa for July 2008 Hero of the Month!
Kids Wish Network: Holiday of Hope Gift Bank
Holiday of Hope Gift Bank is an uplifting, gift-giving program that brings cheer to children admitted to the hospital for treatment. Over $100,000 retail value worth of toys, donated by America's top manufactures, will be distributed to hospitalized children throughout the year. This event was made possible due in part to the generosity of Children's Miracle Network.
NACHRI BIANNUAL TOY DONATION
Mattel and NACHRI joined forces to donate over 700 toys and games to Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital/Marshfield Clinic Children's in December. The gifts were accepted by Child Life Services and distributed to patients age 0 - 18 yrs throughout the hospital and clinic.
A few patients (left) proudly display some of the new treasures.
NACHRI & SWISS COLONY GINGERBREAD HOUSE DONATION
NACHRI & Swiss Colony donated 30 gingerbread houses to the children at Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital. The partially assembled gingerbread houses provided a great activity for patients and siblings alike.
Melinda & Christina (right) eagerly decorate their houses in preparation for the holiday season.
The Sunshine Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer. Established in 1982, they are committed to providing positive group activities and emotional support for young cancer patients. The Sunshine Kids provides a variety of programs and events, free of charge, for kids who are receiving cancer treatments in hospitals across North America.
SUNSHINE KIDS TRIP:
FALL 2006 ORLANDO, FLORIDA
Sunshine Kids participants enjoy a sunny day at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
From Left (Two Sunshine friends, Austin, Britta, Travis, Lisa Roy (chaperone), Kris)
We are looking forward to our next BIG trip with the Sunshine Kids organization!!