People depart a Lego store in Manhattan on August 29, 2024 in Recent York City.
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In September 2023, just two months after his mother fought and won a battle against breast cancer, Sam Lane began to get sick.
Sam underwent several rounds of testing, and the now 14-year-old finally received a diagnosis: a rare brain and spine cancer.
“They said ‘cancer,’ and before I began crying, I said, ‘Dang it, I used to be going to guess that, but I didn’t want it to be that bad,'” Sam said.
But at his lowest point, intubated and unable to walk, a nurse offered Sam a shiny spot: She said she needed his help to construct a Lego MRI scanner set for fellow patients at Boston Kid’s Hospital to play with and learn from.
Sam’s mom said she was “blown away” by the extent of detail within the play set, made from specialized Lego bricks.
“I remember sitting there saying to him, ‘Sammy, why don’t you are taking a break? You have been working at that straight for a while,'” Christina Lane said. “And he just didn’t even have a look at me and was like, ‘Nope, this is very important… I want to assist other kids.'”
Lego’s MRI scanner sets, which feature a scanner, patient bed, waiting room, staff figures and medical instruments, were designed specifically to assist children learn in regards to the procedure through hands-on play. The miniature MRI machine table moves forwards and backwards, mimicking an actual procedure.
On Monday, the toy company announced that greater than 1 million children globally have used the sets to assist them prepare for his or her medical procedures. Recent Lego research found that 96% of healthcare professionals said the model helps to cut back kid’s anxiety, and 46% reported a lesser need to make use of sedation after the kids played with the set.
Lego MRI Scanner play set
Courtesy: Lego
MRIs, which don’t involve radiation, are sometimes utilized in pediatric care – but with the brilliant light, loud noises and requirement to remain still, the machines often frighten children and introduce the necessity for sedation, in line with Sam’s child life specialists, Laura Boegler and Alyssa Sachs.
They deal with ways to support psychosocial and emotional wellbeing of patients and families at Boston Kid’s Hospital and said opportunities to play are key.
“We frequently say that play is a universal language, and so the play-based approach of having the ability to touch and ask questions really helps ease anxieties and misconceptions that any kids have,” Sachs said.
Boegler said having children play with the Lego set before their very own MRI scans has significantly helped decrease anxiety and increase familiarity with the procedure.
The set that Sam built is getting used to ease other patients’ worries in a way that feels authentic to them.
“An MRI machine, that is not something that youngsters are seeing at school, that is not what they’re talking about at home, so it’s type of like this latest scary thing,” Boegler said. “Using the MRI Lego set, we’re capable of show kids in a way that is comfortable for them.”
Lego doesn’t sell the sets and as a substitute has donated greater than 10,000 of the kits to hospitals world wide.
Over the past few years, Lego has worked on expanding its customer base and deepened its strategy to attain a streak of positive annual growth. The corporate has begun to cater more to adults in addition to kids with more sophisticated and bespoke kits, including a big selection of sets aligned with popular culture like “Harry Potter” to “Wicked.”
The corporate’s botanical and F1 racing sets, particularly, have brought latest customers into the fold.
Icons Tiny Plants by Lego.
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Christina Lane said the MRI play set her son built helped him feel connected to other children battling cancer.
“To have a bit of Lego buddy that they’ll discover with that’s going through the identical things that they’re is absolutely incredible,” she said. “As a mom, as a nurse, as a human being, to give you the chance to support our children during such a difficult and difficult time through play – truly, it’s essential.”
And the set has even helped Sam in his own journey. Now celebrating over a yr cancer-free, he reflected on how his relationship with the machines has modified.
In his first MRI, Sam said he felt claustrophobic and scared, and the noises felt too loud for him to grasp.
But now, he has an easy and reliable strategy for all of his MRI sessions: “I go to sleep.”
