Patient brings a little magic to CHEO
11-year-old illusionist entertains kids while waging his battle with leukemia
As Anthony Farinon dips a small plastic wand into a bottle and blows glistening bubbles around the hospital room, the eyes of the little patients around him widen.
The 11-year-old knows what it’s like to need his spirits lifted because he’s also a CHEO patient.
Anthony learned he had leukemia three years ago.
At first, his hospital visits were daily, then weekly and eventually monthly. Now he’s responding well to treatments, which are expected to finish this summer.
During dialysis sessions, Anthony would often receive visits from the hospital’s therapeutic clown, Mollypenny, who would not only bring a few tricks, but a warm smile and a listening ear, too. The two soon became fast friends.
“I met Molly the first month I was admitted,” said Anthony. “She did magic and gave me stickers and brownies. It made me feel happy because clowns are funny.”
Anthony’s mother, Julia Bradford, said Mollypenny’s visits are a blessing, not only for patients, but also their families.
“She’s not only good therapy for the patients, but she’s also good therapy for the parents,” she said. “I’ve cried more tears on her shoulders than any nurse or doctor.”
Mollypenny, who has been at CHEO since 2001, says she has the “best job in the world.”
“The kids tell me everything. And sometimes it’s just a hug. A teen got on the elevator the other day, looked at me and said, ‘I’m afraid of clowns,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’m afraid of teenagers,’ ” she said, drawing some laughs.
As Mollypenny’s spirit rubbed off on Anthony, so did her love of magic. He decided to teach himself how to do card tricks. It helped pass the time during treatments.
Anthony’s mom and younger brother, Emilio, became his guinea pigs, and soon he was doing magic wherever he went — at the cottage, a friend’s house, the hospital or school. In fact, he chose to do magic at CHEO as a class project this year.
The hospital’s CEO Alex Munter, tweeted that Anthony’s efforts “inspired” him. Recently, he was back at CHEO, wearing his magician’s hat, as well as a red nose and white lab coat with silly buttons that read: “My job is so secret even I don’t know what I’m doing.”
As the young man walked the halls with Mollypenny, they saw two-year-old Thomas McDermott, who is battling a kidney disease. They stopped to blow some bubbles his way, drawing smiles and giggles from the toddler.
The toddler’s mother says the extra attention from Anthony and Mollypenny goes a long way during almost daily treatments.
Anthony proceeded to impress the other children around him, guessing their cards, pulling aces out of thin air, all the while keeping the kids on the edges of their seats.
Bradford says that, while no one would ever wish a disease on their child, the hospital experience helped bring Anthony out of his shell.