Clown Volunteers Bring Smiles To Boston's Sickest Kids

BOSTON (CBS) - There's nothing worse than being a child confined to a hospital bed, but as Dr. Mallika Marshall reports, there are some silly, playful volunteers bringing smiles to the faces of some of Boston's sickest kids.

Cheryl Lekousi, also known as "TicToc", and Alan Cohen, "Fuddles", have been clowning around for years as part of the Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe based in Needham.

Professionally trained volunteers, they bring child-centered improvisational play to the bedside. Today they're at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center.

"TicToc" and "Fuddles" base their shtick on the individual patient. How old they are, how they're feeling, what their health problems are and whether they're open to having clowns in their room.

"They may say no and we say fine," says Cohen. "That's giving them control that they would not have otherwise during the day."

"We use the term 'the light behind their eyes,'" says Lekousi. "So however they may look and whatever they're dealing with they're still a child and that's who we're making the offer to."

Shelly Bazes-Bard is a registered nurse at Tufts. She says when she's in a patient's room as "Tweedles", she is not a Tufts employee.

"I'm with the child and I'm their clown," she says, "But it gives me an opportunity to see the care from the eyes of someone being outside of being an employee, and it's a wonderful perspective."

Andrea Colliton is the Director of Child Life Services at Floating. She says the clowns bring such joy to the hospital ward.

"Even though people are here in the hospital to physically get well they are also being treated emotionally," says Colliton.

Their clown costumes are toned way down because, let's face it, clowns can be scary, but not to 12-year old Joe O'Reilly of Abington, MA.

"They're not scary," says Joe. "They're very nice and happy. They make me happy."

And they make his parents, Kevin and Kathy O'Reilly, happy, too.

"It was great to see him smile," says Kathy. "Yeah, he was having a tough day, so it brightened up his day," adds Kevin.

If you would like to donate to Hearts and Noses or if you'd like to volunteer, go to www.heartsandnoses.org