Dec 25, 2008 8:56 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Kids Fight Illness With Martial Arts
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
There's one more weapon in the arsenal to help children fight disease, and it doesn't involve medication.
A martial arts program at some local hospitals has children using meditation and physical therapy as the ultimate art of fighting illness.
The faces of strength, courage, and fierce determination are also sometimes the faces of pain.
Six-year-old Hahsaan Cheaver has sickle cell anemia.
"Sometimes I have pain in my feet, my legs, my head," Hahsaan said.
Children like Hahsaan are patients at the Children's Hospital at Montifoire. They have cancer or sickle cell anemia, but through the "Kids Kicking Cancer" martial arts program, they are focused on something else entirely.
"These children are getting a little edge, a skill to fight an opponent: pain, stress, boredom, feeling sick, nausea, sll the stuff that goes along with their medical challenges," Angela Babin, director of the Kids for Cancer program, said.
"My sister is here, and I want to be here when [Babin] is here to visit her," Michael Santiago, whose sister has cancer, said of the program.
"It makes me stronger, and makes me believe I can get out of here quicker," 11-year-old Kevon Edwards said.
"I think that they spend so much time at the hospital that this is something fun for them to do," pediatric hematologist Dr. Karen Moody said. "Even when they are not up to doing much, they are up to doing martial arts."
"Sickle cell brought a lot of pain all over his body," Kevin Edwards, Kevon's father, said. "When he breathes, it relaxes the muscles."
The program is adaptable to all levels of illness – even for kids who are too sick to get out of bed.
Some patients are only able to participate for a few minutes, but muster praiseworthy force and focus.
"You can feel powerful, you can have fun, you can have joy," Babin said. "You can have strength, you can focus yourself, and you can fight pain and stress."
For an extra holiday treat, the program holds belt ceremonies – a most meaningful reward in the study of martial arts and in the battle against illness.
"It felt like I really accomplished something," Misha McKay said.
"Not only does it give them empowerment, it gives them a group opportunity," Dr. Moody said. "It gives them the opportunity to be in charge of something and to be in control in a situation where they're not in control very much."
While there is no hard data to prove that the program is medically beneficial, Dr. Moody says it has reduced pain and the duration of some hospital stays.
Kids Kicking Cancer is privately funded and free to the kids.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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