For almost a decade Eileen Gallagher has been proving the power of a hug, in fact, she’s almost a professional.
     Shortly after Gallagher partially retired in 2011, she took on a volunteer role at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Her role is to cuddle infants and children. This could be newborns or toddlers who are going through medical issues.
    “We are known, believe it or not, as ‘professional baby cuddlers,’” she tells the Mail. “There is no doubt there is any better job in the world. I shouldn’t say job because it’s a volunteer position, but it is the best ever.”
    She said a lot of the little patients in the hospital are not even from Calgary.
    They are from out of town, and it is not always the easiest thing for their parents or the family to be there with them and give them attention, especially the infants,” said Gallagher.
    She said mostly she works with infants and some preemies. On her unit, she has children often with digestive issues or heart issues, or cleft palates. Kids over the age of 4 typically are more apt to entertain themselves with electronics, and may not always want to be social.
    “They need that interaction. And they love having some in their room. Some of them are quite vociferous about it if there isn’t anyone. I have seen nurses standing in the doorway because the little one sensed when she was not there,” she said.
    She learned about the position because her daughter works at the Children’s Hospital and one day mentioned they were getting short on cuddlers.
    “I said I have always wanted to do that. So I had my interview and they explained everything that was needed,” she said.
    This included a background check and criminal record checks as well as being up to date on vaccinations.
    She goes once a week for about a four-hour shift, and she says it is the best day of her week.
     Often cuddlers can get attached to the kids, especially with some who are there for the long term. Sometimes they also get to meet the parents.
    “They are always so grateful because they feel better knowing their baby is being cuddled anyway, even if they can’t be there,” she said
    After almost 10 years, she has no plans to stop.
    “That will be the last thing that goes,” she laughs.

Dear COVID-19 is a weekly column supplied by
Drs. Rithesh and Veronique Ram

Dear COVID-19.
 
    Many of us will celebrate birthdays during your reign, Covid. For many, parades have replaced parties during this pandemic. Cars pass homes honking in salutation, neighbours paint windows, place yard signs or hang balloons. In fact, if you Google “birthdays during Covid,” you’ll come across dozens of articles on how to celebrate a birthday during a pandemic. Aside from the aforementioned, some suggestions include:
 
·      Virtual Gatherings (House Party, Anyone?)
·      Mail a Special Treat (Chips over Chocolate, Always)
·      Surprise Subscriptions (Amazon Prime for those who have worked through Netflix)
·      Celebrity Cameos (you can pay for a personal shout-out…Brandi Carlile for me, please).
·      Celebratory Slideshows (because we all love to see photographs of ourselves we haven’t selected for show)
 
    I knew as soon as the WHO declared the Coronavirus a world pandemic that my epic 40th birthday was over. No trip, no spa, no amazing race adventure, no fancy pants dinner at a fine dine restaurant with miniscule dishes we’d all “wow” about. But really…as a working Mom of 3 turning 40 (yep, cue the cringe), I’d love to sleep in until 8 a.m., not pick-up any puppy messes, go for a run, play outside with my kids (well, sit in the sun and watch my kids play), enjoy a great board game (Pandemic, anyone), and Zoom chat with some friends when the kids go to bed. I couldn’t help but wonder today, why are birthdays such a big deal? A big enough deal that during a pandemic, we’ve found creative ways to make sure these special days are not forgotten.
    Birthdays are perhaps more important than ever during a health crisis; a reminder of the frailty of life and the opportunity to reflect on another year gone by. The triumphs, the stumbles, the laughter, the tears. The scenes that make up a mini-movie-montage in your memory like a clock encased in glass. For that is why birthdays matter: time. For as tired as we may be after a day of work, hours of home-schooling, weeks of daily housework or months of social distancing, we know if we were lying in an ICU bed struggling to breathe, we’d wish for the days when we had to teach our kids fractions, work from home in our PJs, pick up dog poop and go to bed exhausted because we lived, rather than fought to live.
    To my Covid Birthday Buddies: may you remember this year in moments rather than months. May the everlasting days resonate as a gift rather than burden. Happy birthday.