Not unlike the parable about the Star Thrower, tossing beached starfish back into the ocean and stating "it made a difference to that one!", we had a smaller-than-usual crowd for our October "Fun Friday" event, marking the end of a radiation treatment week for just one special little girl. The party, however, was extremely heartwarming and memorable to the hospital staff & FADF volunteers.
With the play area of the Radiation floor decked out with princess decorations, streamers hanging from the ceiling, and a very pink and sparkly table set up to enjoy brunch, the room was everything that an 11-year-old girl could hope for. We had been told by the grandmother that our particular patient had cried every single time that she had been to the hospital for treatment in the past and that this was the first time she hadn't, because she had been told that today she would get to be a princess.
She stepped off of the elevator already smiling, grandma exclaiming "I think I saw Wonder Woman!" and walked right over to join in on our activities but we had so much planned, we thought it would be best if she just got the radiation treatment out of the way first.
Our patient was crowned Queen for the Day and was referred to by her title for the rest of her stay. She was extremely eager to take part in a photo shoot, getting pictures by herself, with Elsa and Wonder Woman, and with grandma. We decorated wooden masks with paint pens and rhinestones, used foam stickers to adorn foam picture frames that would display the day's photoshoot pictures, and finished with painted fingernails and a fancy donut brunch.
Doctors, nurses, and other personnel joined the 3 total volunteers we had, as it was very exciting that our patient was about to embark on a granted trip.
We were told that this lovely patient might not talk and was extremely shy, but the princess treatment seems to be exactly what she needed and we had many laugh-filled conversations before we all parted ways, feeling full-hearted and happy.
