PHOENIX — While most children celebrating Halloween will be trick-or-treating, others are spending the holiday in a hospital.
“And so being here and not being able to celebrate it at home, it can be really hard so we want to bring some normalcy to them," said Marcella Powell, a child life assistant at Phoenix Children's.
On Monday, the hospital reopened its haunted house for patients and staff for the first time since the pandemic.
Stephanie Herman's nine-year-old son Dylan has been in the hospital for about a week.
She told ABC15 that she was happy for her son to be able to celebrate even if he's not at home.
“You never know what’s going to happen," she said.
Herman and the hospital staff said celebrating holidays can have a huge impact on patients and their families.
“I’ve had parents tell me this is the first time their child has laughed or smiled or actually perked up and was excited or happy and so it’s brought them to tears which brings me to tears at that point," said Powell.
Herman agreed.
“That means the world to him to be able to feel normal," she said.
"It’s like – I know I’m in the hospital, I know things are going on with me but I can still be a kid too," Herman added.
In addition to the haunted house, Phoenix Children's said patients could decorate pumpkins or take part in reverse trick-or-treating.
