This TED Talk features pediatric psychologist Kathy Hull recorded live at TED Women, 2016.

I want to introduce you to some very wise kids that I've known. But first, I want to introduce you to some very wise kids that I've known.

But first, I want to introduce you to a camel.

This is Kazi, a therapy camel, visiting one of our young patients in her room, which is pretty magical.

A friend of mine raises camels at his ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He has about eight of them,

and he started 30 years ago because he thought horses were too mundane. John is an out-of-the-box

thinker, which explains why the two of us have been such good friends all of our lives. Over the years,

I've convinced him to shuttle those sweet furry beasts up to hang out with our sick kids from time to time.

Talking to John, I was surprised to learn that camels have an average life expectancy of 40 to 50 years.

The life expectancy of many of the children with whom I work is less than a year.

This is a picture of the George Mark Children's House, the first pediatric palliative

respite care center to open in the United States. I founded it in 2004, after years of working as a psychologist on pediatric intensive care

units, frustrated with the undignified deaths that so many children experienced and their families

had to endure. As I sat with families whose children were at the

end of their lives, I was acutely aware of our surroundings while the elevated train rumbled

overhead on its track. Quite literally, the room reverberated with each passing train car.

The lights on the ward were fluorescent and too bright.

Monitors beeped, as did the elevator,

noisily announcing its arrival.

These families were experiencing some of the most excruciating moments of their lives,

and I so wanted them to have a more peaceful place

in which to say alas goodbye to their young daughters and sons.

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