“Un Birthday Party” is a program in an inpatient pediatric unit at New York Methodist hospital. The unit hosts up to 25 children suffering from ailments such as broken bones, respiratory issues, and recent surgeries. During the program that runs every other week, children are encouraged to come out of their rooms to play games, eat ice cream, cookies and cupcakes. The room is decorated and complete with TV’s, a Wii, and other video game systems.
When I arrived, a few children were already in the “party” room enjoying their desserts. Soon after, I helped deliver 
cookies and cupcakes to a cute 13 month old girl who was taking a nap in her room. When I walked in the room, she immediately perked up, and followed me to the “party room” with her mother. I continued to interact with her and other children, playing games and doing my best to make them smile. While playing a game of UNO with a few children I noticed one little boy, Mario was standing around by himself. Several people, including myself asked him to play UNO or other games and he refused. He looked a little down so I decided to do my best to make sure he had a good time. After attempting to interact with Mario for a while, I finally got him to agree to play with the Wii. We played Wii sports together with another little girl for a half hour or so. The kids and volunteers started to clear out but Mario and I still wanted to hang out. We fired up Nintendo Game Cube and played for another hour until the head volunteer had to go home.
This was yet another project that I really enjoyed and can’t wait to revisit again!
30deeds 