Beads of Courage tell Children’s Heart Center patients’ stories
Published on Monday, March 25, 2024
By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu
Photos By: Jay Ferchaud/ UMMC Communications
At 10 months old, Hayes Clayton of Starkville has been on a medical journey all his life.
A string of beads tells his story: a blue heart bead for becoming a patient at the Children’s Heart Center at Children’s of Mississippi, glow-in-the-dark beads for each echocardiogram, yellow beads for overnight hospital stays, black beads for IV sticks and a silver bead for the heart surgery he had Tuesday.
The day before surgery, Hayes became the first pediatric cardiology patient to receive Beads of Courage during his care. As Hayes grows up with Children’s of Mississippi care, he’ll receive beads for outpatient visits, lab work, X-rays and CT scans.
“This will be a way that we can remember what Hayes has gone through,” said his mom, Riley Strickland. “You forget all the parts of care, but this is a way of recording everything involved.”
Hayes’ cardiologist, Dr. Onyekachukwu Osakwe, associate professor of cardiology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said the Beads of Courage will be meaningful for patients and their families. “These show all that children with congenital heart conditions go through, and these beads honor their courage.”
Hayes was born with the rare congenital heart condition Shone complex, which is characterized by obstructive lesions on the left side of the heart. Shone is found in less than 1% of children born with congenital heart conditions.
Congenital heart conditions are the most common type of birth defect, occurring in about one in every 100 births. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 40,000 children are born with congenital heart conditions each year.
Founded by Arizona pediatric oncology nurse Jean Gribbon, Beads of Courage gives children undergoing treatments for serious medical conditions something tangible to represent the courage to face what they've gone through. Starting with children and teens with cancer and blood conditions, Beads of Courage has expanded to include cardiology patients as well as those with other medical conditions.
The Children’s Heart Center and related units within the state’s only children’s hospital have been working on becoming a Beads of Courage location since fall 2023. Nurse educator Jessica Brister, child life specialist Allyson Holliman, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit nurse manager Gordon Gartrell, Children’s Heart Services director Alicon Johnson, child life manager Cara Williams and Laura King, manager of quality and patient safety, trained through the nonprofit so they could share the program with their patients.
Patients will receive a cord with a round Children’s of Mississippi bead and block-shaped beads that spell their names plus a cloth bag to hold their necklace. From there, each collection of beads will grow.
“As children with congenital heart conditions grow up, their Beads of Courage will be something they can bring to show and tell at school to share their experiences,” Johnson said. “Beads of Courage combines art and medicine into something that patients and their families will treasure.”