Phoenix Children's Hospital treats patients to Halloween fun

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - "This is amazing and it makes me a lot happier that I'm here," said Jordan, a patient at Phoenix Children's Hospital. "It's the happiest place in Phoenix Children's Hospital... the zone!"

Colorful, crafty, full of games and giggles, it doesn't get much better than this... except during Halloween when things take a festive turn.

"The kids get to come in, they get to pick a trick-or-treat bag, then they get to go to the table that we have, pick out any kind of prizes that they want," said Vivian Rabun, district manager of Spirit Halloween.

Then, it's on to pumpkin painting, costume hunting, and goody bags. But the real goal of today is to forget about the tough challenges many of these patients face, even if it's just for a minute.

"I've been here for like a month and a half, so it is really a stress reliever to be able to come down here and be able to do things outside of my room,"said Heaven, a patient at PCH.

It's less lonely too... for patients and parents.

"It's awesome to be able to see them be able to have something that's a little more catered to them and see that there are other kids going through the same things, but that they can all come together and have fun at the same time," said Shari, Jordan's mom.

It's all made possible by volunteers, staff and Spirit Halloween. The chain partners with more than 100 children's hospitals nationwide to spread festive fall fun.

Vivian Rabun has participated for several years and says simply there's nothing like it.

"I can't even begin to tell you how it make my heart feel when I see these little children coming in and they walk in and their eyes get big and their mouth drops and they're like, 'oh my gosh,' and smile and for those few minutes that they're in here, they can forget, maybe just for a minute, why they're here and it's just the most amazing feeling you've every had," she said.