No tricks — only treats and happy times for sick kids hospitalized at UCLA

If laughter is the best medicine, then kids staying at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA got a healthy dose of it today during a Halloween celebration filled with giggles and smiles. For 6-year-old patient Abby Karr, Halloween couldn’t come soon enough. She had been planning her transformation into a pink, bedazzled Batgirl all week long, said her mother Megan Karr. Abby, who suffers from a heart and lung condition and has been hospitalized on and off since she was 16 months old, couldn't wait for today to arrive. Without ever leaving the hospital, she saw it all: Star Wars characters, super heroes, kitten outfits galore and costumed dogs, patiently wearing their Halloween finery. Keeping Abby company were other patients and their families who didn’t have to miss out on the fun. Reed Hutchinson/UCLA Ten-month-old Norah Booth, who is recovering from a liver transplant, was celebrating her first Halloween as Super Girl. Dressed up in Halloween costumes donated by Spirit Halloween stores and selected at a “boutique” held earlier, kids trailed by happy parents went trick-or-treating through the hospital hallways and main lobby after being treated to a magic show. Everyone got into the spirit with help from child life specialists, nurses, hospital volunteers, community organizations and nearly 70 campus departments and groups from UCLA Health and the UCLA campus. They handed out goodies at stations along corridors and the main hospital lobby where kids stopped, greeted ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news