LOS ANGELES - At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, dozens of hospital beds are filled with patients recovering from recent surgeries. Each patient’s pain is managed by doctors and nurses, but one volunteer has been offering an additional option, a distraction from their pain.
Patricia Magicia Marquis is one of three volunteers at Cedars-Sinai who perform magic tricks with cards, ropes, and other novelties for patients. For patients, like Loretta Moscozo, it’s a moment to forget about the pain.
“That was awesome. I wonder how you did that?” Moscozo said to Patricia Magicia as she performed a card trick.
Moscozo recently underwent her second surgery that stemmed from a work accident.
“They found other things that were wrong so they did a major surgery on my cervical spine,” Moscozo said.
She has already spent about one week in the hospital, but it will take her longer to recover before she can go home.
It’s tough days like the one Moscozo was having that inspired Patricia Magicia to give back with her magic skills she learned from the Magic Castle. When Magicia’s close friend died from cancer she felt helpless in her friend’s health journey. That’s why she decided to bring joy to patients with a few moments of magic each week.
“My goal is to make them feel wonderful and relaxed and have a good giggle, if I can, because I can’t change their pain but I can change how they will feel,” Magicia said.
That’s why every Tuesday she can be found sharing magic tricks with patients like Moscozo, who for a moment found comfort in a hospital room.
“It made me remember what it was like to be a kid and took my mind off my pain,” Moscozo said.
After Moscozo’s surgery, Patricia Magicia’s magic tricks were just the right dose of distraction to help her get through the next few days.