European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday. July 16, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 3 clowning around helps ease children s fears about surgery Syjud Sarasohn medical Mitre Frankfurt three year old Jan Mal Farmer reluctantly pricked Popko s Finger for a blood lest bul he confidently put the Bandage on and then placed the anaesthesia mask Over the Clown s Mouth and nose. Popko was t nervous about being Hurt. He s Only a doll that s been used for the past six weeks at the Frankfurt army regional medical Center to ease Chil Dren s fears before surgery. Research shows that kids who know what to expect will adjust to in better said maj. Patricia Ross head nurse of the paediatric Ward. We Don l have an inanimate thing that s lying there and we work on it she said. These Liny kids grow up to be angry adults when they go to the doctor. This is a first step in getting them used to life s stresses that they did t necessarily vote  Ross developed the doll and the pre operative program when she was at for Bragg . Popko stands for pre operative preparation kids  the dolt with a red bulb nose yellow Yam hair and red and White striped suit is a non threatening Way of answering children s questions about surgery Ross said Popko comes with his own Hospital bed in line electrodes and identification Bracelet. There also is a cart with surgical masks Anc Silesia masks Andreal Needles for Popko s blood tests. Of a child is rushed into emergency surgery he will get a Chance to act outfall experience with Popko later. The Clown also is used with children who t quire ivs even though they Don t face surgery. Playing is the Way children express themselves explained play therapist car Ole Shafer whose eight hour a Weck Job at Frankfurt is funded by the american women s club. And by playing with Popko she said the children regain a sense of control Over their lives and their fears. We Tell them step by step what will happen Ross said. Some children think they re Here because they did something bad and it s a form of punish  children Are told the truth injections and Needle pricks will Hurt but not for Long. A child can handle that knowledge much belter than the worry Over How Long the pain will last Ross said. Some parents have unconsciously communicated their own fear of Hospi tals and injections to their children. Others Don t explain to their children what is going to happen for fear they will scare them. Popko has two faces. One is a Happy face while the other is tearful. We let them know it s of to cry Ross said. Ross said children use precision if not skill with the Needles. Children respect Needles because they know How those Needle pricks feel she said. Besides making the children More comfortable the playing with Popko sometimes provides important information about the children that is passed onto the medical Crew treating them. One child showed a lot of concern with the anaesthesia mask. The Surg Erical team was informed and was then pre pared when the child refused to breathe in the special  surgery had to be postponed. Shafer generally runs through the Popko program with the children. Last week she sat on the floor of the Pedi Alric word playroom to explain what would happen 10 Jahmal and Popko when they Wiit in for lubes to be put in their ears. Jahmal is the son . Willford and sol. Jacqueline Farmer of  was shy so Shafer asked him Why Don t you get your Friend Teddy so he can watch Loo Teddy needs to know this  us photo by of. Shot my. Patrick Ross helps Jahmal Fanner 3, administer anaesthesia to Popko. Jahmal brought Over his stuffed Bear which Shafer dressed with a surgical mask and Cap so the boy would know How the doctor would look. Other children on the Ward who Al ready were old hands with Hospital procedures gathered around too. It s going to Hurt for just a Lille Stephanie Saunders 7, told Popko As she tied a band around his Arm and prepared a Needle to draw blood. Stephanie was expert but As she explained she s diabetic and gives herself insulin injections. Stephanie the daughter of staff sgt. Kenneth and Linda Saunders of Wurz Burg enjoyed playing with Popko. It s interesting. There Are lots of things he does she said. I think Popko has had an exciting  cruise control really worked on swedes Auto Moegen Sweden a seven swedes  agree on How to spend their vacation tailing or driving so they did both at the same the Compromise was to remodel a Mercedes 220 into a boat end sail with a Bouse trailer in Tow. Vacationers reacted with Surprise when the Odd vessel arrived in Moegen on the swedish West coast swedish Media reported monday. Tailing the others wanted to go by car so we had to figure out something. Gunnar harolds son he Driver of the Craft told the daily Oole . The group spent a week sealing the Chassis of the car and the trailer with plastic and replacing the car engine with an outboard motor. The car boat and House trailer were allowed to parallel Park free by the Quay in Moegen. The Harbor Warden said he did t know  charge and refused to endanger his of by trying to explain the situation to his Superior the news paper  Crew welded All doors shut and entered the Mercedes through the Sun roof. Pennsylvania Man faces charge in new claim of tainted jello by the associated press officials say a tampering scare in the Midwest involving Ell of Likely was a hoax because the threatened Batch was produced and distributed in 1984, and officials in Pennsylvania have charged a Man in a jello tampering scare there. Norman Mart Allen 21, of Honesdale. Pa., was arrested monday and charged with knowingly communicating false information that a consumer product had been tainted said Wayne Davis Fri agent i charge in Philadelphia. Arraignment was scheduled tuesday. Jello Gelatin and instant pudding mixes were re moved from a Wayne county pa., supermarket after the store received Calls Friday and saturday saying the product were contaminated Wilh cyanide Honesdale police chief Frank Rosier said. Neither Rosier nor Fri agents would say if Allen was a suspect in tampering scares last week in the Midwest and Georgia. An Anonymous caller late last week said he had placed sodium cyanide in three boxes of jello in Chi Cago and Detroit. General foods and some stores or dered jello Gelatin removed from grocery stores in five states last week after receiving Anonymous threats. No actual tampering has been confirmed. We Haven t found one package of this lot number in the Detroit area Alan Loeling Detroit director of the . Food and drug administration said monday. The lot number Given by the caller matched a Balch of jello produced in november 1984 in Dover del., general foods spokesman Kenneth Defren said. Groc Ery officials said such products usually Are replaced in stores every few weeks. Meanwhile Consumers in King county wash., can again buy vitamins and food supplement capsules in tamper resistant packages. The Seattle King count health department monday lifted a ban that was imposed after two deaths blamed on cyanide tampering but a statewide ban on the Sale of capsule medications remains. The slate Board of pharmacy imposed a 90-Daystate ban june 27 on Over the counter pull apart medi Cine capsules. King county s More extensive ban Cov ered All two piece unsealed capsules. Cyanide had been found in four bottles of extra strength excedrin and one bottle of anacin-3 in Kin county. Two Auburn wash., residents died last month after swallowing cyanide laced excedrin. No one has been charged in the Case. And after another Anonymous tampering threat Al forms of the decongestant Suda fed were removed from shelves of All six people s drug stores in Muncie ind., said the manufacturer Burroughs wellcome co. Of North Carolina. Anyone who bought the product with in the last week was asked to return it. The Suda fed was being tested at a Federal Laboratory