We all entered the busy hallway. Parents and their children stood in the corridor, some passing through and some waiting patiently for a treatment. Our team lined either side of the hallway as we waited for direction from the charge nurse. Spanish words were exchanged between Melvin and the nurse.
Soon after, Melvin introduced the nurse and gave us great news—this nurse had given us permission to visit the children’s hospital. She looked at us, smiled, and said “Enjoy!”
We walked into the ward: many cribs lay scattered throughout the room, with parents sitting at the bedsides. The sound of breathing treatments and crying kids sounded throughout the area; the nurses and doctors were standing in the nurse’s area, some chatting and some focused on their paperwork. We took our handful of plastic balls and dispersed throughout the unit, each going to different cribs to hand out the goodies for the kids and to pray with the parents.
Each ball had a smiley face printed on one side and a bible scripture scribbled on the backside. We purchased them the day before, and printed the encouraging words on them for the parents to read and speak over their children.
After each child received a ball and a prayer, we exited the ward and walked down the hallway, stopping each parent/child in our path to give them a little gift of encouragement. We entered another small ward that had a handful of infants/toddlers lying in their cribs. As I entered the room, a young mother caught my eye. Her eyes drooped and she looked exhausted. She stood at the crib and held the tiny legs of her baby boy, who was not much older than 10 or 11 months. As she tried to change his diaper, the little boy cried and attempted to roll over. His mother looked frustrated.
I walked to the back side of the crib, away from the mother, and reach my hand between the bars. I gently rubbed the chubby shoulder, and the boy looked up at me with tears in his eyes. I held a green ball above his head. He stared at it for a handful of seconds before reaching up to grab it. After his little hand grasped the ball, I moved my hand back to his shoulder and said a short prayer for him.
As he stared at his new toy, the brightest and sweetest smile overtook his little frown. His eyes sparkled and his face lit up; as he lied still in the bed, his mother changed his diaper without a squirm. She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes, and say “Muchas gracias”. I held her hand and prayed for her. Mom’s eyes started sparkling, just like her little boy’s.
All it took was a little green ball and a short prayer to brighten the day of a mother and her sick child. Many children lied in their beds, some passed out while others lied awake but lethargic; each mother sat by their side with exhaustion or anxiety overwhelming them. It took just one little act of kindness to bring relief and joy in their moment of emergency. It took just one little act of kindness to calm a crying child who was trying to push away the breathing treatment from his face. It took one little act of kindness to ease the pain from painful IV start.
Within an hour, the bag of plastic balls was empty. Each child received a little gift of hope; all that remained was a bag of foam heart stickers. “Who else can we bless?” we asked ourselves. Melvin had a great idea.
We walked back through the ward and placed a heart sticker on every nurse and every doctor in the children’s hospital. They reacted just the same—with beautiful smiles and uplifting excitement. All it took was one little gift—one little act of kindness.
