The health management of S. Maria della Misericordia in Perugia has granted permission for a labrador puppy to keep company with his owner who is hospitalized there
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himShe is 16 and has been in the hospital for a while fight some eating disorders. The other is Emily, a 6-month-old Labrador and, above all, the first dog of an hospitalized patient to be allowed to enter the Perugia Hospital for therapeutic needs.
That's right: given that the young teenager's care path will be long (she will have to stay hospitalized for several weeks and then continue a psychotherapeutic treatment that will probably last several years), the health management of S. Maria della Misericordia - where already in the oncohematology department pediatric some volunteers play a playful activity between animals and small patients - granted permission for the puppy to keep the girl company.
“The objective that needs to be identified for these patients - explains Dr. Simone Pampanelli - is to divert their attention from food and thus spend time in activities that lower discomfort and enhance feelings of serenity and joy. Vittoria (invented name, ed) has certainly benefited from the presence of her animal in her hospital room ".
Thus, in the wake of positive experiences such as Emilia Romagna or some retirement homes in Tuscany, the pet therapy is confirmed once again as a 'winning weapon in the delicate therapeutic and rehabilitative paths.
“Emily gives me so much serenity - says the girl from Perugia - I missed her, the desire to caress her. For me she is very important, she helps me to get better, I want to do it for her too because the affection I have for her is reciprocated ".
The furry companion of the house, therefore, is now also in hospitals an active figure from whom to receive affection during a hospital stay, it helps to smile, to feel less alone, to better overcome disabilities.
“Not only Pet-therapy - concludes the medical director, Dr. Manuela Pioppo - we will shortly extend this path of humanization also in the medical oncology facility, identifying a specific space. The requests made by doctors will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and must show a therapeutic utility ".
Let's go ahead, then, with the entry of our four-legged friends where possible and goodbye to forced separations between patients and animals!
Germana Carillo
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