By Matt Bittle, Pediatric Transplant Center Clinical Administrative CoordinatorOne of the Pediatric Transplant Center’s most anticipated events is the annual Family Celebration Day. It is a special time for transplant patients andtheir families to gather for a day of fun, food and festivities. This year’s eighth annual event was hosted at Kimball Farms in Westford, MA. Many discoveries awaited the children on the farm: face-painting, miniature golf, bumper boats, arcade games, a driving range, batting cages and much more.Young children and their siblings had the opportunity to switch roles from patient to doctor in the medical play area. Child life specialists were on hand to assist the children as they performed “checkups” on their patients. It was a busy day at the farm clinic. Hundreds of stuffed animals underwent medical procedures such as having their temperatures taken and blood pressure checked. Some even had surgery.While the younger children were busy with medical play, the teenagers put their art skills to use designing and decorating their own t-shirts. Using paint and glitter, they transformed plain white t-shirts into unique, wearable art. Everyone had an opportunity to enjoy the many fun activities that Kimball Farms had to offer.
After working up a hearty appetite during the fun and activities, families were treated to an American BBQ buffet lunch followed by Kimball Farm’s famous homemade ice cream.
The highlight of the day was the “Dunk Your Doctor” event. For a donation to the Pediatric Transplant Center Special Needs Fund, families had the opportunity to “dunk” a member of our transplant faculty. A crowd of attendees gathered around, and children lined up, for their chance to dunk a physician, coordinator or nurse practitioner. The members of the Pediatric Transplant team were good sports, and everyone enjoyed watching them get dunked.
This year’s event was the largest ever, with more than 400 in attendance (92 transplant recipients plus family members and Boston Children’s staff). As the day ended, many of the parents expressed their gratitude for the event and the opportunity to be with other transplant families.
We look forward to seeing you all next year! In the meantime, take a look back at more photos of the 2014 Family Celebration Day on Facebook.