Hospitalized: A poem by Jadine Baldwin

Jadine Baldwin (with her mother) is a 15-year-old student who's been hospitalized at Holland Bloorview since she had surgery to straighten her spine way back in November. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it," she says. "This has been the most painful surgery I've ever had." 

Jadine says she uses writing as an outlet for her emotions. "I write when I'm happy, sad, angry or hungry."

It's also a great distraction from pain, she says. "When you're in pain you want to find stuff that makes you feel better, even if just temporarily. Writing makes me forget that I have pain for the moment." 

Jadine's favourite writer is young adult author John Green, who wrote the bestseller The Fault in Our Stars. "He's astonishing," she says. "He doesn't mess around." This is Jadine's poem about what it feels like to be a teenager going through rehab in hospital. Stay tuned for more of Jadine's work.

Hospitalized: A poem by Jadine Baldwin

Being in the hospital as a teen one minute feels like forever

Being in the hospital as a teen pain demands to be felt

Being in the hospital as a teen you understand that life is too short to be unhappy

Being in the hospital as a teen means that physio is not a choice

Being in the hospital as a teen opens your eyes to who your real friends and family are

Being in the hospital as a teen makes you appreciate the little things in life

Being in the hospital as a teen introduces you to so many people who want to see you succeed

Being in the hospital as a teens helps you make memories and friends to last a lifetime

Being in the hospital as a teen where food is the only flaw is not too bad

Holland Bloorview is the place for healing (in any shape or form) at its best.