"I thank Jesus Christ, our
Lord, who has given me strength,
that He considered me
faithful, appointing me to his service."
1 Tim. 1:12
As Pediatric Therapist for
Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
in Memphis, Tennessee,
Diana Chiles' focus is to
promote healing by providing opportunities for play.
Her primary tool is a green
puppet, "Bernard".
As a fellow patient, Bernard
has the ability to bring a smile
and to provide trust,
comfort and friendship.
Diana and Bernard work with
the medical team
to help children and their
families
cope with the fears and emotional
stresses of hospitalization.
Through play children are
able to express their feelings and
gain a greater understanding
of their hospital experience.
Ms. Chiles has been a
speaker for national, regional, and state conferences,
and has conducted workshops
for several hospitals.
She was featured in two national
television documentaries,
and has had articles
published about her work in
Southern
Living,
Memphis Magazine,
the Christian Singles Magazine,
and the
Mississippi Magazine.
Her award winning video "Bernard, Are You Okay?"
(ACCH Media Festival,
Honorable Mention, 1987)
is shown in children's
hospitals throughout North America.
Diana has a Masters Degrees
in Education / Child Development,
and a second Masters in
Family Counseling,
with an emphasis in Grief
Counseling.
(click on above picture for a more detailed version.)
While working as a Graduate
Assistant for the
Communications Department of
Mississippi College,
I did a research project on
"Puppetry and it's Effect Upon Education"
which awoke a whole new avenue of
creativity for me.
While lecturing for a teacher’s conference in Houston, Texas,
the Head Chaplain from M.D. Anderson, Dr. Ed Mahnke,
heard me speak.
He talked to me about
the fear and trauma
that children experience
when they are hospitalized.
He asked me if I had ever
considered utilizing my puppets as a therapeutic tool
to help children cope with
the emotional stresses of hospitalization.
He put something in my heart that I
couldn’t ignore.
I moved to Fort Worth, Texas,
where I
entered Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
to study Family and Grief Counseling.
I graduated from
Southwestern in May 1979,
and began working as a
Pediatric Therapist for the
Mississippi Baptist
Medical Center
of Jackson,
Mississippi in June 1979, where I stayed for twelve years.
In 1990, my sister and
her family moved back to our home town Memphis.
My sister's children started praying that their “Aunt Di Di” would move
back home.
Neither God nor I could
ignore those sweet prayers.
In March 1991, I began
working as Pediatric Therapist for
Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center.
This is where I
plan to stay as long as God and Le Bonheur allow me this gift.
I love my job!
I thank God for it every day!
