Matthew's Halloween Story

There is no ideal time to be hospitalized, but missing out on holiday activities makes a challenging time even harder. After all, kids are still kids even when they are in the hospital. At The Hospitals of Providence Children’s Hospital, we are consistently focused on ensuring every child and family has the best experience possible. Every year around the major holidays, we try to make our patients’ days a little bit brighter with parties and special visits. On Halloween, every unit from the hospital is invited to go door to door in a reverse trick-or-treating fashion to drop off sweet treats and reassurance to our patients and their families. One patient that was on the receiving end of this annual tradition was Matthew, a 14 year old with cerebral palsy and Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome.

When visiting Matthew’s room, his mother pulled members of our Administration aside with tears in her to ask for a photo of her son with our “Incredible” team. After a quick photo, she continued to explain how this experience was another contributing factor to her appreciation for Providence Children’s Hospital.

Before Matthew was born, his mother knew he would need a high level of care from a trusted team. “I was 35 weeks pregnant when I found out about Matthew’s disabilities,” she said, “he was in the NICU here for 9 days after he was born.” After a stay in the NICU and frequent hospitalizations throughout the past 14 years, the Providence Children’s team has become a familiar presence in Matthew’s life. “They recognize Matthew and we have known some of the nurses for years,” his mother told us. “I ran into a couple of nurses that have known him since Neonatal,” she continued, “the simple fact that they recognize him and us, it is amazing. I love this hospital. I live in Horizon City and I will travel all the way over here just to be seen.”

Through years of compassionate care from our skilled team, Matthew and his mother have fostered a strong relationship with our nurses and hospital as a whole. The room to room visits on October 31 were just the icing on the cake in their family’s perspective. “What you guys did on Halloween for those kids, it was amazing,” she said. “A lot of those kids missed out on their trick-or-treating but I saw the happiness on all of their faces. I was blown away by that.”

What may seem like a small gesture of kindness to our team is a memorable moment of above and beyond care to those on the other end. Whether it is a simple candy drop-off on Halloween or a nurse delivering life-saving treatments, the Providence Children’s Hospital is proud to provide extraordinary services in a family-centered environment.

To learn more about our pediatric services, click here.