Tylers Place

Why do we need a sibling care center?

The idea for a sibling care center grew from a need recognized by Jeff & Kristin Tracy through their own experiences with their son Tyler and his siblings McKayla & Austin.  On several occasions the family had a dilemma of trying to be by Tyler’s bedside in the hospital while keeping the other two children on a normal routine.  Since Tyler’s mom was a stay home parent there was no day-care option available that would allow the Tracy’s the ability to spend time with him and keep the other children out of mischief.  While the Ronald MacDonald house provides shelter it does not provide day-care while the parents attend to their child. 

The Tracy’s began to notice that many other families were struggling to stay in the room with their sick child while shuffling parental duties for the siblings amongst other family members.  During the week many people are committed to their jobs and often this responsibility falls solely on the parents alone.  With all the stress of their sick child this can become overwhelming.  As a result the siblings are often confused and get lost in the chaos of their brother or sisters illness.  They can feel unloved, frightened or even responsible for what is going on.  We often forget how much support they need at this time.

The need for a sibling care center is real.  It would allow parents the ability to drop off their other children for a while in order to spend needed time with their sick one.  They can get important information and news from the medical team about their child and spend quality alone time impacting his or her recovery.  All the while their other children are just a few steps away, getting the support they need, when the closeness of the family is necessary.

Keeping families close together, the siblings supported, and impacting the recovery of the sick child through direct parental involvement will be a huge win for the hospital, the patient, and the family.  This is the goal behind raising funds to endow the sibling care center at the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison Wisconsin (At the University of Wisconsin Hospital).  The hospital broke ground on October 18th, 2004.  The original plans did not include such a center.  In working with the hospital the Tyler Tracy Foundation, Inc. has secured a commitment to include that center in its construction of its new hospital set to open to patients late August, 2007 in exchange for the pledge of $200,000.  To date we have raised over $90,000.  Please browse this website, learn more about our mission, and help however you can.

On July 28th We cut the ribbon and opened the gift that is Tyler's Place!  Here are a few photos of what the center looks like.

Tyler’s Place: a safe haven for the other kids in the family

Families lucky enough to have healthy children may never give it a moment’s thought. But just imagine having your life turned upside-down by a child that requires long-term hospitalization. Who goes to work? Who stays at the hospital? And what about taking care of your other kids? read more... 

Your feedback to us has been tremendous:

Here are a few things you can do to support siblings of children dealing with an illness:

• Reassure them that they are loved.
• Reassure them that they are not going to catch the illness.
• Reassure them that it is not their fault and they did not cause the illness.
• Encourage them to express their feelings.
• Seek advice from a Child Life Counselor and look for age appropriate books that might help explain what is going on and read them together.
• Make time to do something special together.  It will be good for both of you.

For Tyler

Our Sweet Baby Tyler Our sweet boy Tyler Has been so brave for so long His tiny body overcoming challenges That would seem impossible to imagine Yet, instead of crying, His spirit sang a song Against impossible odds He managed to persevere Time and time again he’s been brave His weeping we would never hear Through our own tears We have watched him struggle His sweet face peering back at ours Through eyes that knew only love Unaware of our deepest fears Always trusting His life we surely treasured Full of hope and promise Full of love that cannot be measured With his body failing him We embraced his fragile soul Our sweet boy surrendered To the sickness that consumed him Quietly in love we held him As he slipped the surly bonds Of the body that could not sustain him For less than two years He touched our hearts and left us blessed With a memory of what it’s like To touch the face of God And wipe away his tears