A Virtual Program Promises Real Relief

After a grueling odyssey to treat their daughter’s pain, a Florida couple supports a creative approach to extend Boston Children’s expertise.

Two days. That’s all it took for Mia to dump her crutches and march into the record books at Boston Children’s Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center (PPRC).

When Mia entered the center’s day program for children and teens with chronic pain, a record board highlighting patients’ achievements—like running the fastest mile or completing the most repetitions—immediately grabbed her attention.

After learning there was a crutch destruction ceremony when a patient no longer needs them, Mia set an aggressive goal to get on the board. She tossed hers away on her second day in the program.

From Florida to Boston

Five months earlier, 10-year-old Mia had suffered a hairline fracture on her ankle during a game of nighttime tag at sleepaway camp. The seemingly innocuous injury brought her family from Florida to Boston in search of answers and sparked a visionary philanthropic partnership.

Mia’s ankle didn’t heal; instead pain spread up her leg. Within weeks, it had become so agonizing that she needed crutches to walk. Several local doctors were baffled. Though they suggested numerous therapies to find relief, nothing worked.

Finally, Mia was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome—a condition associated with persistent and intense limb pain that’s typically triggered by an injury. She began physical therapy, but her symptoms continued to intensify.

Mia is an outgoing student who loves learning and is active in theater. However, the constant pain started to take a toll on her enthusiasm for everything in life—and she began missing school.

Desperate for solutions, her parents, Elizabeth and Ben, turned to the PPRC to help resolve their daughter’s pain. Mia entered the rigorous multidisciplinary day program, where she participated in daily sessions of physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral psychology sessions, occupational therapy and more. She quickly mastered strategies, like distraction techniques, to address her pain. After five weeks in the PPRC, Mia had the tools she needed to manage her symptoms and return to life at home—including school.

“Getting back to school is one of the major goals of the PPRC,” says Deirdre Logan, PhD, Pain Medicine’s director of psychological services. Seeing how Mia flourished, Elizabeth and Ben wanted to help expand the reach of the center.

They established the Elizabeth and Benjamin Gordon Family Fund to support a virtual reality program addressing patients’ medical concerns and anxiety around returning to school.

Once launched, the program will provide a bridge from the PPRC to everyday life. Patients will virtually navigate physical and psychological obstacles by “choosing their own adventure,” a kind of exposure therapy to the school setting that will help reduce anxiety and empower returning students. Simulations will allow patients to practice activities like negotiating stairs or talking to other students about their experience.

“We all learn in different ways,” says Ben. “An immersive virtual reality program, where you can see what you’re supposed to do and then try to mimic those activities from a rehab standpoint, is very powerful.”

Ultimately, Dr. Logan anticipates multiple applications of the technology in the PPRC, including games to achieve therapeutic goals. And the Gordons dream of a future where access to the care Mia received isn’t dependent on a family’s location and means. “If you can’t bring every patient to Boston Children’s,” Ben says, “you can find ways to bring Boston Children’s to the world.”