Young Fountain Valley patients get into Halloween spirit with pediatric parade
The Halloween costume was simple enough, but it certainly fit 11-year-old Anthony Alonso’s mood.
The UCI Health - Fountain Valley pediatric patient wore Los Angeles Dodgers gear from head to toe for Thursday’s 18th annual Pediatric Halloween Parade at the hospital.
“I’ve been a Dodger fan my whole life,” Anthony said. “It’s cool how they won the World Series [Wednesday]. It’s huge for the Dodgers. Friday, we’re going to have a parade.”
Anthony, who lives in Trabuco Canyon, has been watching the World Series games in his room in the hospital with his father, Alex, as he battles a nasty cough.
“We’ve been cheering them on,” Alex Alonso said with a smile. “We had to close the door one day because we weren’t paying attention and we kind of got a little bit loud.”
Enthusiasm was certainly encouraged at the parade, which started inside the pediatric department of the hospital and continued outside. Hospital employees joined with community partners and local firefighters and law enforcement to create a giant party.
Pixar movies were the theme, with each department having its own booth based on a movie and giving the kids goodies that they could pack in a pillow case.
“The kids are so into Halloween,” said Crystal Whitaker, UCI Health - Fountain Valley nursing manager. “They’ve got all of the specifics of their costumes, so Halloween, I feel like, is one of the most important holidays for them. For them to miss it with their friends, I’m so glad that we could bring this to them here.”
Paulette Heitmeyer, the chief nursing officer, was dressed as Bo Peep from “Toy Story.” Her costume included two inflatable sheep she carried with her and matching earrings.
“It’s really just to distract these patients that are here,” Heitmeyer said of the parade. “A lot of them in pain, they’re dealing with a lot of very high-stress, emotional issues, being sick, and so this is our way of kind of giving back to them. It’s letting them forget for a minute that they’re a patient, and they’re a kid again. It just means so much to us.”
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients also were able to get in on the fun at the hospital, formerly called Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, which joined the UCI Health family earlier this year.
Different hospital departments designed costumes for the NICU babies, and the families got to choose which one they wanted.
Anthony’s cough has improved. He hoped to go home from the pediatric department on Thursday night or Friday, his team’s world championship secured.
“This morning, I started seeing all of these characters outside,” Alex Alonso said. “This Halloween parade is pretty amazing. It’s great for the kids.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
