Experiencing adolescence while being ill, with more or less prolonged stays in hospital, requires a good dose of resilience, as shown in the “Teen Hospital” series, available on the Vrai platform.
At 11, Justine is the youngest of the group that we follow in this eight-episode documentary series. When she was born, she was not breathing well and the doctors had to give her a tracheotomy. “I’ve had it since then,” she explains. There are things I can’t do, but I still go to school in a special class. I have a room that is equipped for my care and in the event of an incident.
Even though she makes regular visits to the hospital or stays there once in a while due to a virus or pneumonia, she sees herself as the others. “I feel like I’m like my friends. When I was younger, I was more limited, I could do fewer things on my own. As I get older, I am able to do things on my own, like going shopping or visiting my friends. When I was younger, my parents always had to be with me. It is sure that I am perhaps more mature, because I lived more difficult things. I’m more responsible.”
For about a year, she can count on a friend, Mila, who is also in the series. “I knew her before, my mother worked with hers. Since she had a diagnosis, it helps to talk about what we are going through and to make ourselves understood. Having a friend who knows what it’s like to be in the hospital often helps with morale.”
another reality
At 15, Marceline has a particular outlook on life. Suffering from polycystic kidney disease, she had a kidney transplant, but if the operation was successful, complications forced the doctors to remove the kidney. She spent a long time in the hospital during this period. “I found it difficult because I wasn’t really living my life. In the hospital, you don’t go to school, you don’t have any activities, you don’t go out at night. In addition, I am very sociable, I talk to everyone, and I missed being able to chat with people.
She recognizes that keeping friends when you are often absent from school is not necessarily easy. “We have our phones, communication is easier on that side, but I’ve lost a lot of friendships because I’m less available and less present.”
Ever since she was a child, Marceline has been more resourceful. She was diagnosed at the age of 5, and that’s when she started going to the hospital, dealing with adults, and having to take care of her health. However, she claims to be a teenager like the others despite the context. “There’s nothing that takes away from me being a teenager. I’m more mature because with what I’ve been through, it’s one more life experience, and there are situations that I’m going to understand better.”
His dreams also changed because of the disease. “Before, I wanted to go dancing on Broadway. But I have totally changed. Now I would like to be a nurse. During my last stay at the hospital, on my floor, the nurses were happy every morning. It touched me and I want to do the same. I’ve always needed to move, to be in action, it’s a job that could fill me.
Young people are not abandoned by the school environment during periods when they have to stay in hospital for varying lengths of time. Teachers, who work at the hospital, follow up with the team from the school where the young people come from. They are the ones who will advance learning with the young people, in partnership with the team of attending physicians. The learning speed may be slower, but the teachers adapt according to the medical condition. Young people generally have little catching up to do when returning to school, at least they are not completely lost.
The eight episodes of the documentary series “The Teen Hospital” are already available on the Vrai platform.