Hear from Elsie Garcia , a Family Advocate at Joe DiMaggio’s Children Hospital, about how Project Sunshine's activity kits bring joy and normalcy to doctor appointments.
We see about 12-14 children each clinic where they attend 4-hour long appointments and meet with about 10 providers at a time. During these appointments, patients are discussing serious surgeries and treatment plans.
In between consultations, we give out Project Sunshine activity kits and you can immediately see the impact. We've seen these kits completely transform the mood of our patients and families. We had one child cry because they didn’t want to leave. Another took his superhero kit and got his cape signed by all his doctors. And still another patient announced, “This is the best doctor’s appointment ever!”
For the kids, Project Sunshine activity kits bring a sense of normalcy, much-needed distraction, and plain old fun. For both parents and our staff, seeing the smiles of our kids and patients is priceless and gives us energy for another day.