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Photo by Reed Hutchinson UCLA
Photographic Services
The Rev. Irene Aiko Miyamoto provides spiritual support
to the sickest children and their families, as well as to
the pediatric staff.
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pediatric chaplain counsels families
Helping others cope with pain
BY AMY WADDELL
UCLA Today
Imagine dealing with the deaths of five critically ill children
in the pediatric intensive care unit over a three-day period.
Helping the families and staff cope with this overwhelming experience
was the role of Irene Aiko Miyamoto, an ordained minister in the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), who recently became the first full-time
staff pediatric chaplain at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s
Hospital.
“I was trying to help all of these different families, plus
the nurses and doctors, deal with the sadness,” Miyamoto recalled.
“It was tough for me too, since I felt the loss as well, but
it was also rewarding that I could use my training to make a difference.”
Miyamoto is trained to address the special needs of critically
ill children — from newborns to teenagers — and their
families. She makes more than 100 visits per month to the sickest
children, including those dealing with cancer, neurological diseases,
organ transplants and trauma. She also provides spiritual care to
support the pediatric staff as they help their patients through
illness, and educates the younger doctors and nurses on the importance
of spiritual care in treating their patients.
Born in Nagoya, Japan, Miyamoto was raised traditionally as a
Buddhist, not as a Christian. She was working in international marketing
when she decided she needed a change. “I was in a major transition
of my life, going through divorce,” she said. “I needed
to start my new life in a new environment.”
California seemed a logical place in which to settle, since she
had visited the state many times. When she arrived in Los Angeles
in 1996 to pursue a master’s degree in communications, a friend
invited her to attend the Harvest Crusade evangelistic event in
Anaheim. “I was touched by the message about forgiveness and
new life,” Miyamoto said. “I didn’t become Christian
right away, but started to seek God then.”
Later that year she entered the seminary and began volunteering
at hospitals, including interning as a chaplain at Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles. Miyamoto entered UCLA’s yearlong residency program
as a clinical pastoral education student and recently assumed her
current position.
To help her get through tough emotional times, Miyamoto keeps
a poster in her office with the lyrics to an inspirational song
called “To Where You Are.” Whenever a child dies, she
fills in the space around the lyrics with the child’s name,
the dates of birth and death, and a special memory about him or
her.
Many may wonder how she is emotionally able to handle working
with sick and dying children every day, but Miyamoto said she finds
a deeper meaning in her work.
“It is a privilege for me to walk with these kids and their
families during their last weeks of life,” she said. “It
is an honor to witness how much these children are loved by their
parents and to see how beautiful they are. It is truly a learning
experience.”
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