Pandemic Can't Break First Lady Tradition of Bringing Christmas Cheer to Children's Hospital
Melania Trump didn’t let the coronavirus pandemic break a decades-long tradition of first ladies visiting a Washington children’s hospital at Christmas.
On Dec. 15, she made her fourth holiday visit as first lady to Children’s National Hospital.
“Wonderful to be here,” she said. “This is one of my favorite events during the holiday season.”
During each of her visits, Mrs. Trump said she has seen that the spirit of Christmas is alive in each of the children.
“Mrs. Trump has our deep gratitude for joining every first lady since Bess Truman in bringing holiday cheer to children who are hospitalized and can’t be home during this special time of the year,” Dr. Kurt Newman, chief executive officer of the hospital, said.
The first lady sat in a chair in front of a towering Christmas tree in the hospital’s atrium.
Two patients, 6-year-old Riley Whitney and 8-year-old Sofia Martinez, sat with pillows on a red carpet in front to listen to Mrs. Trump read a book about holiday ornaments that come to life.
Her reading of the children’s Christmas story “Oliver the Ornament Meets Marley & Joan and Abbey” was broadcast over the hospital’s television system so patients could tune in from their rooms.
Todd Zimmerman, who is writing a series of children’s books featuring the Christmastime adventures of Oliver the Ornament, said the stories serve to teach children about kindness, especially in the face of bullying.
During her time as first lady, Mrs. Trump has raised awareness about the harmful effects of bullying.
Zimmerman said he was glad Mrs. Trump’s visit would help take the children’s minds “off of what they’re going through, if only for an hour.”
When the reading ended, the first lady went to call out numbers in a bingo game. The children play the game twice a week.
The hospital marked 150 years of pediatric care and research this month. Volunteers opened the hospital in 1870 with 12 beds for children displaced after the Civil War.
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