Ill Children Get a Prescription of Online Therapy

Tapping into a campaign to ease the loneliness and anxiety of chronically ill children, health officials Wednesday set up the first in a network of computers aimed at helping sick kids keep in touch with the outside world--and each other.

Through the Ojai-based Dan’s Room project, officials installed the high-powered computer at the county’s pediatric chemotherapy lab across the street from Ventura County Medical Center.

The computer was purchased through donations by the Ojai Valley Woman’s Club and will be available to youngsters undergoing prolonged medical treatment.

Eventually, officials plan to link the computer with others set up at the county hospital so sick youngsters can play games, chat with each other or do homework together.

“For these kids who are looking death in the face, this gives them the opportunity to disconnect for a while,” said Dr. Chris Landon, head of pediatrics for the county health system. “Through the support of hundreds of people, we have been able to make life a little better for our kids.”

The campaign to put computers into the hands of sick Ventura County youths was launched by Ojai residents Steve and Cathie Knapp.

Driven by the loss of their only child--a 16-year-old computer whiz named Danny who died earlier this year from cystic fibrosis--the Knapps set out to create a virtual playground to ease the suffering of youngsters coping with lengthy courses of treatment and extended hospital stays.

The Dan’s Room project seeks to build a network of more than a dozen computers, most of which would boot up at the county hospital’s pediatric ward and the chemotherapy lab across the street. Some computers will be loaned to critically ill children confined to their homes.

All the machines will be loaded with a software program--written and installed by Cathie Knapp’s co-workers at ComputerFocus in Oxnard--that provides access to interactive games, age-appropriate Internet sites and other high-tech features.

“My original thing was to get one or two computers over at Ventura County Medical Center,” Cathie Knapp said. “The outpouring of support has been wonderful. I think Danny would really be jazzed to see this happen.”

Dan’s Room is a grass-roots campaign that consists mainly of Cathie Knapp asking for donations and tapping doctors, nurses and others in the community to help spread the word.

Three computers have been purchased, the first with money donated in Danny Knapp’s memory by family and friends and the second with funding from El Rio-based transportation company Wilsey Bennett, where Steve Knapp works.

Ojai Valley Woman’s Club members learned about the project earlier this year and held card parties and luncheons to generate $1,250 to buy a third computer. The club has since raised nearly enough money to buy a fourth machine, Glennetta Berthelson said.

“We’re just so tickled by the response,” said Berthelson, who overheard Cathie Knapp talking about Dan’s Room at a rummage sale and persuaded fellow club members to adopt it as their fund-raising project for the year. “Today is a happy day for me.”

Ultimately, the Knapps hope to link the system with similar networks that have been powered up across the nation as health-care providers have begun using computer technology to ease the suffering of children plagued by chronic illness.

But those who gathered Wednesday at the chemotherapy lab said they are willing to start small, setting up one computer at a time to open a window to the world for Ventura County youngsters bound to sick beds and treatment rooms.

“It’s a great thing they have going,” said Rick Hunnicutt, the owner of All-City Computers in Camarillo, who volunteered his time to set up the computer Wednesday. “Just having something for these kids to do while they are there for hours at a time is a terrific idea.”