Super Siblings Honored at Annual Inn Celebration

Sibling Day highlights heroes who play an essential role in their brothers and sisters’ medical journeys

Every child who comes in the door at The Children’s Inn at NIH has needed a little help to get there. For so many, that help has come from siblings – brothers and sisters who have supported each other since the earliest steps on this path to a treatment or cure.

On July 10, The Inn celebrated these Super Siblings with its annual Sibling Day Celebration. Sponsored by General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Sibling Day provided focused attention on their emotional well-being and allowed participants to gain insight into their siblings’ experience at the Clinical Center. In some cases, it was the first time that these siblings—who have often spent their lives sharing a bedroom with the patients—had the opportunity to visit the medical facilities treating their loved ones.

The day began with a tour of an operating room. They explored the laboratory tools used by researchers at the NIH Department of Laboratory Medicine and had the chance to climb inside an MRI machine to get a mock scan at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Sibling Day was initially envisioned and created by Dr. Lori Wiener, a Trustee of The Inn and the co-director of the Behavioral Health Core and head of the Psychosocial Support and Research Program at the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Over a decade ago, she started the annual tradition to recognize the siblings and educate them on the medical experiences of their brothers and sisters.

“It is well understood that siblings often feel invisible in the chaos of their brothers’ or sisters’ treatment, hospitalizations and clinic visits,” she explained. “The goal of this program is for siblings to learn about the procedures their brother or sister experiences, to provide a supportive opportunity for open discussion of feelings and reactions to the illness, and where for one whole day, they are provided with attention and recognition for their unique role in their siblings’ treatment.”

With the need – sometimes urgent – to find groundbreaking medical care for their siblings, many of the brothers and sisters celebrated at Sibling Day have had to interrupt their own lives for the benefit of their families as they relocated to the Inn while receiving treatment. The activities provided a chance to gain a better understanding of the medical side of the NIH campus and share their feelings and reactions openly and honestly while providing a day of fun, attention, and recognition for their unique role in finding a cure.

“These are Super Siblings, like superheroes, for being amazing supporters of their families,” said Cristian Lemus, The Inn’s Family Program Education Specialist. “This year, we also included participation from patients and honored them as superstars – shining examples of strength, kindness, and bravery.”

After touring the Clinical Center, the group had lunch at The Inn, provided by Panera. After that, the group participated a therapeutic art activity: tie-dying t-shirts. NIH Chaplain Mike, who has been a regular participant in Sibling Day since its inception, led a music activity, and the event concluded with an awards ceremony and shaved ice from the Kona Shaved Ice truck.