St. Christopher's Hospital for Children hosts annual Halloween party for young cancer patients
Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children hosts annual Halloween party for cancer patients
Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children's Oncology Clinic hosted its annual Halloween party to help kids undergoing cancer treatment have a sense of normalcy during such a hard time in their lives. Check it out!
PHILADELPHIA - A portion of Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia was taken over by the spooky Halloween spirit on Wednesday, with candy, pumpkins, and of course, kids in their costumes.
"It’s just amazing, I love what they do for the children, especially taking their mind off what’s going on when they usually come here," said Erica McNeair, a parent.
Usually, these kids come to the hospital to get treatment for cancer, like Erica McNeair’s daughter, Ava Brielle Golden, who was diagnosed last year.
"It was very hard but, shout out to the staff here—they definitely made it easy. I’ve had hard days but they made it so easy where my days are not hard, they make sure my baby smiles every time she comes here," she explained.
And Wednesday was no different, with kids enjoying the festivities and the chance to have fun.
However, you can’t celebrate Halloween without some trick or treating, which the kids got to do by walking around the hospital and getting their bags filled with delicious candy.
For Raheem Gladney, this is the third time going to the party with his son Royal.
This time around it’s a little bit more special, as his little Spider-Man just beat stage four cancer and is in remission, celebrating alongside his family and the hospital that stuck by his side.
Raheem Gladney, a parent, feels the event is significant.
"It’s nostalgic—it means a lot under the circumstances of what he went through and what all the children are going through to see everybody come together to unite, and it’s a tough time for a lot of families. To have this little celebration means a lot."
Alice Reiser, the President of the Friends of Joey Foundation who organized this event, knows all too well about these tough times.
26 years ago, her son Joey was battling cancer at the hospital and sadly passed away. Now, Alice is taking her son's favorite holiday and making sure kids and parents in the position she was in years ago can have a sense of normalcy.
"Sometimes people think, oh these kids have cancer and this is going to be sad, no, we are not about sad. This is a fun day; this is about letting the kids just have a good time," said Reiser.
And by the looks on their faces, mission accomplished.