This past Wednesday, Columbus Blue Jackets players Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray spent the afternoon playing games with a princess-- the 6-year-old princess just happened to be receiving chemotherapy at the same time.
Princess Maggie is a patient at Nationwide Children's Hospital and a member of this year's group of pediatric cancer heroes, a program sponsored by the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation.
Maggie faces her final chemo treatment this week. She showed up to the annual Blue Jackets visit to Nationwide Children's hospital in her princess dress, complete with a crown.
"It's me and Ryan's second time coming here and spending time with her. She's a really great girl," said Jenner, who showed a huge smile when Maggie walked in. "It's tough seeing (her in treatment), that's why we want to come here and make it easier."
Jenner and his fellow Blue Jackets were part of a team visit to Children's, arriving via the FOX Sports Ohio Blue Jackets Fan Express, and continuing a relationship that's been built between the hospital and the CBJ for over a decade.
It's relationships--between organizations, and between players and children--that have come to matter most.
"Today is an opportunity for the players to see where the work they enable through the Foundation comes to action," said Jen Bowden, Executive Director of the Blue Jackets Foundation. "Hockey Fights Cancer night allowed players to meet our Heroes at Nationwide Arena, now the players get to come to where the patients are and see the impact we are able to have."
A portion of the Foundation funding that goes to Children's Hospital is focused on relationships that matter most for children facing tough medical challenges.
"At Nationwide (Children's Hospital), through our psychosocial programming we treat not only the physical condition of the patient but the emotional condition as well. We focus on allowing kids to be kids," said Nichole Ferris, Associate Director, Constituent Giving at the hospital.
"No child should be here in the first place," Ferris said. "If they are here, we focus on how do we talk to their siblings about their condition; how do we talk to their parents and how do they talk to their friends; we treat the whole child, not just the illness."
In addition to relationships with those outside the hospital walls, the Blue Jackets Foundation has funded the Family Resource Center at Children's Hospital. The Center provides respite for family members of patients receiving treatment at the hospital.
"We needed a place for the families to go to get away from the bedside just for a minute, said Ferris. "In the Center, families can check e-mail, do their laundry, get a haircut and more. We try to treat the whole family and the Blue Jackets do a great job of supporting that."
But Wednesday's visit was ultimately about the one-on-one relationships players develop with children at the hospital. The Blue Jackets shed their hockey gear in favor of street clothes to play floor hockey, board games, and crafts with the patients. They also provided individual visits for children who were not able to leave their rooms.
Jackets forward Matt Calvert was one of a few players who, in addition to spending his time, spent his own money to bring additional toys and educational tools to the hospital.
"Raising money is great but you don't always see what is done with it," Calvert said. "It was awesome to go and buy stuff and know it was going to go into the children's hands to help them."
The Jackets plan to grow the relationships that began today throughout the season, culminating in February's Blue Jacket Black Tie Ball that showcases the entire class of pediatric heroes.
Today was a great start.
"When you look in the room right now, there are patients with IV poles, there's a patient getting chemo and doing a craft with Matt Calvert," said Ferris. "It's just a fantastic way for our patients to get away from what they have to go through every day."
Visit http://www.bluejacketsfoundation.org to learn more about the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation and make a donation. Click here to learn more about the FOX Sports Ohio Blue Jackets Fan Express.
