An Afternoon at DeVos Children’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, May 2nd

By Erin Jenkinson: For A Day Foundation Hurley Children's Hospital Chairperson

What an exciting afternoon Haley and I had at DeVos Children’s Hospital. I was not only honored to bring the For A Day Foundation to DeVos, but thrilled that Haley Williams, Miss Michigan 2013 joined me. We began our visit in the playroom making Mother’s Day cards with the children.

While Haley was making a card with a very special young lady, she reminded Haley of a previous visit they had when Haley was Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen a few years back, just goes to show kids remember everything!

After our time in the playroom the child life specialist took us to visit the children unable to go to the playroom. So many wonderful moments were shared with these children from the inpatient unit to the outpatient oncology/hematology clinic.

We visited with more than 30 children between all the units. Haley and I loved watching the faces and excitement of these children when we showed up with tiaras, boa, firemen hats, coloring books, crayons, games, and crafts. The favorite gift by far was the superman capes and masks we gave to the boys!

I have to say our visit with one little boy who was in protective isolation made my day. He was so cute waving and jumping up and down impatiently waiting for us to come to his door. When we showed him a selection of toys and crafts through the glass door, you could see in his eyes he was trying to make a choice, the superman cape won, but we surprised him and gave him everything! Boy was he one happy little camper!

What a wonderful time we had at DeVos, and we’re so excited to be invited back to share more great memories. Stay tuned for the next visit at DeVos Children’s, date to be determined.