BOISE — 2-year-old Kayden Rood acts just as you’d expect a toddler to; full of energy.
“I treat him as any other two-year-old, but when things come up, and things are wrong, I understand why," said his mother, Cristina Rood.
His cerebral palsy diagnosis and other medical needs means sometimes playtime is interrupted by doctor time.
“We’re at a doctor or at least therapies three times a week," said Rood.
The weekly appointments themselves are difficult for any two-year-old, but there's added stress when a second toddler needs to come along. The new St. Luke’s Idaho Elks Children’s Pavilion is making life a little easier for families like the roods. The pavilion offers a sibling center, which is staffed by a child-life activity specialist. Parents just check in their child, and they're free to play in a safe space while their other child sees the doctor.
“It's a lot less stressful when you’re in the doctors, therapists that often, it's already stressful, and so giving us that daycare for the other child is just going to be remarkable," said Rood.
It also gets children specialists all under one roof, which saves time and money for families with complex medical needs. Now Cristina can spend the appointments focusing on the time with the doctors, without any added worry.
“My job as a mom is just to do everything I can now so that he has the best life," said Rood.
In the first week since its opening, the Idaho Elks Children's Pavilion has seen 1,055 patients..
