Cliniclowns

My twingirls were born with rhesusdisease.
They needed exchange transfusions and erytrocytes-transfusions to prevent them from dying.
It wasn't easy to spend a lot of time in hospital with 4 other children at home. But the girls were breastfed, and the hospital was too far from home to ask a neighbour to bring and fetch me many times a day. So I sat from early morning till late afternoon beside a bed, watching my girls and having very small talks with the nurse when she came in to check.

One of these days I was waiting for the doctor in a little room. On the other side sat a mother with a toddler that was coughing a lot.
Suddenly the door opened slowly and a yellow hand reached inside.... the hand was slowly followed by...

a clown!!

In no time he made the little one smile and forget the pain. And my little girls of only a few days old were all moving arms and legs. Not because they were afraid of the harsh sounds.
No! There were none.
It was because of the soft sweet voice of the clown who sang a melodic lullaby.
The presence of the clown was felt in the room long after the large shoe found its way through the door, came back to wave goodbye, and stept slowly away.
I had both tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.
But what was more important: I had a smile in my heart, because the little toddler fell asleep shortly afterwards and didn't feel his pain anymore.

It was years later when I was in hospital with Lars. He needed a kind of routine surgery, but there was a lot of tension when waiting for him to return and hearing the outcome from the doctor.
It was in december, the day the whole country celebrates: Sinterklaas. (It's like boxing day at Christmas.)
I'd been waiting for over an hour, for about 75 minutes.
I was just thinking that it took far too long and that I maybe should ask a nurse to check at the OR, when the door was opened and 2 pietes came in, followed by a very tall Sinterklaas.
Above the cape, that had a touch of the tablecloth my gram used to have, was a long white beard. And above the beard two interesting eyes.
I knew those eyes!
But up till now I haven't figured out for sure who the Sinterklaas was.

After entering the room, they made way to two children. They talked a while about what they had experienced a few hours ago. (They had surgery too.) They joked a bit. Just right for the age of the children.
They spread a very relaxing feeling through the room and a lightness of thinking that makes pain bearable.
I sat there, just watching, and even my thoughts were distracted completely.

Then they asked for Lars. I told them he wasn't back yet. Just in a very neutral voice. Nothing special. I was forgotten my worries.
Sinterklaas said something that really touched me as a mother. The two pietes were joking with the children at the other side of the room, and I was feeling like that little girl in front of that all knowing holy man. And I didn't even mind one bit! LOL!
Then he told me that it wouldn't take long anymore and he gave me the present that was for Lars.
"Give it to him. He might think it's a bit childish, but it isn't. Every persoon needs a little confort from a stuffed one that can't talk.
Tell him it's from the real Sinterklaas."
A photo was made for Lars to prove that I got the present from Sinterklaas.
Then I got a hug and he went.

The cliniclowns make a real difference for children and parents who have to stay in hospital.
I feel priviliged to have been there twice, but it's impossible to count the times they lift people up. Just walking through a waitingroom is an experience children and parents talk about, because they make people smile.

Care to share is initiated by Caroline of Cosmic Handmade.
She cares to share her talents with others, thus granting me the use of this beautiful webset.
I'm very grateful for that, and I enjoy seeing the colours and the graphics.
I'm sure you have enjoyed it too.

Please consider donating to the cliniclowns, or enter them into your inheritance.
Cliniclowns are available in many countries nowadays.
I have linked the care to share graphic to the group that works in The Netherlands.
In case you need a translation, please let me know. I'll be happy to make one. More than happy, in fact.