Superheroes bring joy and smiles to hospitalized kids
[July 16, 2021: Michelle Dorey Forestell]
Tony Stark once told Peter Parker, “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” The team at Elite Window Cleaning proved once again on Friday, Jul. 16, 2021 that they are heroes with and without their suits.
In what has become an annual tradition loved by many, the Elite team rappelled down the outside of the pediatric department at Kingston Health Sciences Centre’s Kingston General Hospital (KGH), bringing smiles to kids, families and staff while fighting grime instead of crime.
Ava Cabral, 15, witnessed Thor and Spider-Man outside her window. And her description of the day is not what you’d usually hear from a child spending time in the hospital.
“It was fun! I got to FaceTime my younger cousin and show her, and she had a blast!” she said with excitement.
The God of Thunder and the web-slinger were joined by their comrades Iron Man, Hulk and Captain Marvel. Even Batman was able to make the trip all the way from the DC universe.
Several bystanders on the ground cheered the heroic efforts from below.
In an eyewitness video shared on the Elite Window Cleaning’s Facebook page, Hulk revealed his powers are more complicated than most people realize, as he is actually afraid of heights. “That’s my secret,” he said as he smashed his way over the edge of the building, “I’m always terrified.”
Chris Stoness, Founder and CEO of Elite, live-streamed the special visit on Facebook, “Unfortunately, today there were enough kids in KGH that we needed to do two drops; we love it when there’s hardly anybody in here, but because there’s a whole group we’re doing two drops today,” he said.
He pointed out, “Don’t know if you can see the kids on the other side of the glass through Facebook here, but they’re going crazy, which is the best part about this whole experience.”
“If anybody watching this would like to help contribute or donate to the charity, you can go on our website and click on the Superhero Day tab, and there is a link to make a donation to the Kingston Health Science Center,” he said, encouraging donors to “help these amazing people who are superheroes here every single day.”
Ann Cabral, the mother of Ava, described a flurry of happiness that accompanied the heroes’ visit, “You could hear a lot of activity in the halls. I think it’s an awesome thing. I can see how kids, young and old, would love it, even the staff. It’s a good morale booster for the staff, too, I think.”
“It was awesome, my daughter’s been in hospital since Monday and we are actually being discharged. So it was a great send off,” she said.
Throughout July, Elite has been raising funds for the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, and will be donating a portion of all window cleaning appointments booked before Friday. Anyone wishing to add to that donation can visit Elite’s web page devoted to the initiative.
Kingston Health Sciences Centre, which has been hosting Superhero Day for six yeas now, shared some of their own photos from the day, and sentiments from Kerri-Lee Bisonette, Manager of Pediatrics at KGH.
“We know it can be stressful to be sick and in the hospital for both the kids and their parents,” Bisonette said, “So it’s nice to be able to have fun like this to help ease that stress.”
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