NEW technology gadgets were on display at the latest CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas – wall TVs, Virtual Reality and smart phones, but the most fun to watch were robots – robots that walk, talk, pour coffee, play Ping-Pong, and even follow you as a suitcase. Our personal favorite robot was a therapy duck called My Special Aflac Duck – yes, the same funny duck in insurance commercials. It’s not only cute and cuddly; it’s also a welcome therapy for children coping with cancer. It’s a toy with a purpose – to help children cope through chemotherapy treatments.
My Special Aflac Duck is part toy, part robot, part therapy device. It has become a mascot for children stricken with Lymphoma. Extensive research was made of children diagnosed with cancer – how they feel as they undergo cancer treatments. Children may be unable to express their feelings to medical staff, but their pet duck can do this for them with a happy chirp or painful groan. The duck enables them to communicate with doctors and nurses.
And yes, this duck can quack, cuddle, and dance. It dances to music. It has a heartbeat. It can breathe. One child was observed to be unafraid of surgery as long as she was able to bring her duck to the operating room. What a blessing this duck is.
My Special Aflac Duck has a glowing E. T. chest where kids can place feeler cards with emojis. Kids decide how the duck is feeling which is usually their own. This enables doctors and nurses to monitor and treat their patients better. When sad, the duck droops its head and quacks sadly. When happy, it dances and quacks cheerfully.
The duck has an I.V. set for kids to “administer” medication to the duck. It can even “receive” chemotherapy to mirror therapy that the child receives. This helps children feel less scared about chemotherapy. This reverses children’s role from patient to caretaker by feeding, bathing, and giving medicine to their pet.
Aflac’s goal is to bring My Special Aflac Duck to every child aged 3-13 in the U.S. free of charge. The insurance company started delivery last September to children at hospitals across the country, starting with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare in Atlanta.
This lovable robot is indeed a blessing to children with cancer.
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Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV – Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation.
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He retired after 50 years of defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He published a book on “How to Avoid or Survive IRS Audits.” Readers may email tax questions to [email protected].