SAN ANTONIO – While some young patients may have to spend Halloween night in the hospital, one nonprofit is working to ensure they don’t miss out on the fun.
Groups like the Stay Strong Foundation create bright spots during dark times.
“We’re thankful the organizations that have been around to help us through it because you just go through the motions, and you just put him first,” Destiny Moreno, the mother to a young cancer survivor said.
This year, they are providing Halloween costumes to pediatric patients at University Hospital and bringing a Halloween party to those who can’t go trick-or-treating.
“I’d be staring at them with this big cat head, they would laugh, and it was a really cool time that was very needed in a space like that,” cancer survivor Bryce Fox said.
For Fox, dressing up and laughing with the other patients was more than a moral boost — it was a distraction from the tumor in his pelvis.
While some may take festivities for granted, Stay Strong Foundation board president Debi Harper says being able to celebrate Halloween goes a long way, something she learned from her son.
“The day before he went into the hospital, he wanted to do something, so he put it on Facebook,” Harper said. “He said, ‘hey, you know we need costumes for these kiddos here because they’re kind of isolated.’”
This year, the nonprofit hopes to collect 400 Halloween costumes to let kids be kids.
They will be accepting donations through October 22nd.
To donate, you can text “costumes” to 53555 or click here.