Support  for Siblings of St. Jude Patients 

When your child or teen has a serious illness, it affects the whole family. This includes your child’s siblings (brothers and sisters).

Siblings of a St. Jude patient can face many challenges, including:

• Long separations from the patient or caregiver
• Visits to a hospital they do not know
• Changes in routine

St. Jude child life specialists can help siblings cope with these challenges.

How child life specialists can help siblings

• Learn about the child’s illness and treatment
• Prepare for medical procedures that your child might have
• Prepare for medical procedures where the siblings might have to help your child (for example, donating bone marrow to the patient)
• Tour the hospital
• Get to know other children their age
• Stay in touch with their brother or sister in the hospital
• Cope with feelings
• Feel like they are still an important part of the family

Learn more

Contact Child Life

Child Life Department
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital|
MS 121, Room B2095
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN  38105-3678
Phone: 901-595-3020
Fax: 901-595-2690
childlife.info@stjude.org