March 9, 2005

Clowning around

By Cory Habermehl
chaberme@uwo.ca

Once a month for the past two years, she and her parents have visited the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario for her treatment. But there's one health-care professional who makes Alison's hospital trip a lot more fun.

Photo by Steve Mesjarik

Caught in the act - Ollie Pale with patient Alison Croke.

He wears a tuxedo jacket with ridiculously long tails and a cheery oversized yellow tie. A bowler-style hat sits perched on his head and a bright red nose juts out from his face. He even carries his own version of a medical bag. He is Ollie Pale, therapeutic clown, and it is his special style of treatment that Alison and other patients have come to love.

"He's really funny," she said. "He's always got something new to show me in his pail."

The pail is to a clown what a medical bag is to a doctor. Filled with games, puzzles and stickers of all colours, it's just one of the tools he uses to bring smiles to the faces of young patients like Alison.

"With all they have to deal with, I just try to get the kids to become kids again," he said, carefully adjusting his hat. "It's what they're built to do."

Pale has been clowning around the Children's Hospital two days a week since he was hired in January 2004. The position is one of the three newest therapeutic clown programs to be initiated by the Therapeutic Clowns Canada Foundation.

Each year the not-for-profit organization works to start up at least two or three programs somewhere in the country.

"The goal is to have a therapeutic clown program in every interested pediatric health care facility in Canada," said Joan Barrington, who co-founded the organization in 1999.

She now works as coordinator and fundraiser for the therapeutic clown program at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. In addition, she entertains the hospital's patients as Bunky the clown, a role she is thrilled to play.

"How many people have a job where kids run up to them and give them hugs all day?" she asked. "I love it."

Therapeutic Clowns Canada is a grant-funded organization that provides enough funding to start a program and keep it running two days a week for two years. All programs in Canada have selected Tuesdays and Thursdays, says Michelle Wilband, professional practice leader of Child Life Services at the LHSC.

Photo by Steve Mesjarik

Therapeutic clown Ollie Pale brings smiles to young patients every Tuesday and Thursday.

Wilband was part of the committee that reviewed a proposal from Barrington to allow the clown program to come to London.

"It's been so great," she said. "The fun, play and laughter have shown to be very positive in the way kids cope with being sick and in the hospital."

Barrington is excited about the decision as well, and says she is pleased with the choice of Pale as London's clown.

"I believe Ollie has a very good heart," she said. "He's very caring and gentle, and very respectful of all the kids."

And though he works primarily with children, Pale has entertained patients of all ages, from three months to 98 years old. "Anyone who happens to cross my path," he said.

Visits last anywhere from 30 seconds to his record time of an hour and a half spent with one patient.

"You just follow the lead of the child or the family," he said. "You can tell when they've had enough."

His work at the hospital offers parents who are often as stressed out and tired as the children a chance to catch their breath.

"Sometimes they're involved and sometimes they sit back and don't take part," said Pale. "And that's perfectly fine with me because they need that."

Glenda Croke, Alison's mother, agrees.

"I think everybody benefits from him," she said. "It's a huge relief because as an adult you have anxiety going in there as well. You know what's going to happen to your child."

Response cards are also available for parents to make anonymous comments about Pale, and feedback has been nothing but positive.

Responding to the question, "What went well?" one parent wrote, "Everything. Ollie was a godsend. I wish he was available all the time."

Pale involves the hospital staff in his routine as well, which indirectly helps put the children at ease.

"Kids see me playing around and suddenly I'm not a person who's going to poke them with a needle and hurt them—I'm a real person," said Sherrilynn Sageman, a nurse in the pediatric medical day unit at the Victoria Campus of the LHSC.

Pale acts as a calming distraction for patients who would otherwise be nervous and scared of the hospital environment, she says.

"I love Ollie. I think he has a wonderful effect on the kids."

Sageman's patients have even begun trying to book their treatments around Pale's schedule.
"Tuesdays and Thursdays have quickly become our most popular days," she said. "I wish we could have him here every day."

And though the current funding situation doesn't allow for this, Pale makes the best of what little time he has, and continues working to make his "patients" smile.

Patients like Alison Croke. She still sees Pale every Tuesday, something she says she couldn't do without.

"You know how they say laughter's the best medicine? (Without him) it would kind of feel like I'm not getting enough laughing medicine."

It's comments like these that are the most rewarding for Pale.

"The laughter is the best part," he said as he wandered off down the hallway in search of another patient. "That's just the happiest sound in the world. Here you just play, play, play."