‘A visual representation of all those connections’: Collaborative loom in Family Room makes visitors, patients feel less alone
12/12/24 12:30:pmWhen life starts to feel untethered, it’s more important than ever to find connection.
“When you're a caregiver for a patient, especially at Rogers, you know it can be very challenging and isolating, and sometimes you just need that self-care” says Andrew Finch with RMHC, manager of the Ronald McDonald Family Room in Rogers’ Ladish Center, where loved ones of patients can get a free bite to eat, a quiet workspace, a chance to relax, and much more.
“I even have families that will come back a lot on the last day just to thank me and tell me they really appreciated the space and all that we had to offer and the memories they made here in the Family Room,” Finch says.
A recent addition to the Family Room is helping visitors make memories in a new way. Finch says every time he introduces visitors to the space, he takes them on a tour, ending in the art room where a loom sits ready and waiting for new contributions.
“I tell them that if any point they want to add a ribbon to our loom, please feel free to do so,” Finch says. “The loom is that visual representation of all those connections in those families who have come before them, no longer feeling alone. Their journey is not a singular one, but one that multiple families go through, and the loom is a physical reminder.”
Often, Finch says he sees that connection play out in real time, with families meeting others in similar situations.
“People will come in here when they first admit their child and they feel so alone and scared, and they feel like no one else from their home really can understand what they're going through,” Finch says. “But then they get here, and I see these connections. So often they meet another parent who has been here for a while, and they start talking. And they're like, ‘Wow, my kid is going through the exact same thing,’ and they're able to connect.”
That connection is clear through the loom – which is open to visitors from grandparents to siblings to caregivers to patients out on a pass.
The loom has gotten a lot of love on Rogers’ social media pages, and Finch says he’s already gotten great feedback from visitors who feel they’re now tied to something bigger.
“We had a few people break down into tears, just saying how beautiful it is and how they felt so alone and seeing that was really a comfort for them,” he says. “It's a pretty powerful thing when they are so emotional about it.”
Learn more about the Family Room here.
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