Thursday, December 11, 2014

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2003. Mattie was in Los Angeles and at Griffith Park riding the famous Dentzel Carousel. Mattie loved the Carousel which was interesting in and of itself since he really did not care for activities that involved crowds and loud noises. Yet there was something intriguing about a carousel. The horses, the lights, and of course the movement. I think it was the movement that captured Mattie's attention and he wanted to know just how this machine worked!!! At heart he was an engineer and he was always fascinated by the mechanics and operations of things and wanted to understand them.  


Quote of the day: Stories about lives remembered bring us backward while allowing us to move forward. ~ Nina Sankovitch

As promised, here are some photos from the gingerbread man cookie event that the Charity Through Medicine Club hosted at the Georgetown University Hospital yesterday. The Club brought all the supplies and set it up and worked with the in-patient children in the units. 

Several of the children were unable to leave their rooms because either they weren't feeling up to it or they were dealing with immunological concerns. But that was just fine, the project came to them!!!

As you can see ALL age groups participated in cookie decorating! Even real little ones! Our teen volunteer is in a yellow gown and mask because extra precautions were needed to enter this patient's room..... not for the volunteer's safety, but for the child's! All sorts of germs can easily come in with us through our clothes, hands, etc. 

When a volunteer is allowed into a patient's room, I view this as really positive. A patient wants to engage, is feeling up to it, and wants some new stimulation. It is wonderful particularly when kids who are healthy can help kids who are impacted by illness. To me this can be a very enriching experience and though awkward at first, I think with more exposure to one another, this can be a very beneficial for both sides of the equation. 

I don't know the story behind this fellow, I only got to see the photo of him, but I entitled it "the sad cookie!" Of course even through food, how one feels clearly comes out.