Being in the hospital for any length of time can be challenging. For children battling cancer, extended hospital stays could mean they miss out on creating lifelong childhood memories like trick-or-treating.

On Tuesday, employees of Memorial Care’s Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, along with Long Beach Medical Center, made sure that an illness didn’t keep Halloween’s ghouls and goblins away from their patients.

Rita Goshert, Director of the Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program at Miller Children’s Hospital, says different departments in the hospital are always eager to ensure patients don’t miss out on dressing up and going trick-or-treating.

“We try to bring a bit of normalcy to their hospital stay,” says Goshert. But this event was anything but normal. Hospital employees went all out, dressing up as storm troopers, Beetlejuice, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and, of course, the dreaded Ursula.

Ashley Suazo’s four-year-old daughter, Kataleya, was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma cancer in March, a rare form of cancer that affects the bones or the soft tissue around the bones.

Suazo says her daughter is not only going through chemotherapy but was scheduled for chemotherapy later this afternoon. Suazo says events like this are a great relief for parents who are also dealing with the mental stress of watching their children endure surgeries and treatments.

“If we didn’t have any of this, it’s like a dark, lonely road,” says Suazo. She also says events like this, along with the hospital’s constant efforts to make life as enjoyable as possible for the children, make going to the hospital for chemotherapy treatments much more manageable.

Suazo says Kataleya’s surgery to remove the cancer in July was a success, and she is anxiously awaiting the month when her daughter can ring the bell, a treatment tradition that she will partake in when her own treatment is completed in less than four months.

Suazo says her daughter’s long road that has been made easier thanks to the efforts of hospital employees.

“She’s not even afraid to come to the hospital,” says Suazo, who says her daughter often refers to the hospital as “the doctor’s house.”

The hospital hosts large-scale events for patients three times a year.

Still, ensuring that children can experience joy throughout their treatment and hospital stay is always a priority. The hospital continuously organizes smaller events, and support from the community is always welcomed.

You can help by purchasing items from the Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Amazon wish list. All items purchased from the list go directly to the pediatric patients.