ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It's never easy being a child with a serious illness, and the staff at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital knows this.
That's why they take extra steps to make sure the children that enter their building are immersed in fun activities. During the Halloween season, for instance, they hold a Pumpkin Festival where the kids get a chance to paint and decorate their own pumpkins.
There is also a weekly dance party - to celebrate getting through another week of treatments, something the staff say helps them as much as it helps the kids.
Meanwhile, across the street, construction is taking place for the hospital's new research building, and the crew in charge of building the structure has gotten to know about the dance parties quite well.
For the weekly party of Oct. 21, the crew was invited to take part in the fun.
"I... happened to be at my van just 20 yards from the site," wrote Rick Larrison on the hospital's Facebook post showcasing the special dance party. "[I] heard all the whistles going, looked up, saw the kids in the windows and... all the crew on-site taking part in a great event."
Thanks to some pre-planning and some radio communications, the construction workers held signs and danced from their positions at the job site, while nurses and staff lined children up to the facing window to watch and dance along.
"My six-year-old son loves watching them work on this building when he is there for his infusion every month," wrote Rachel Magee. "Love that they would take the time to cheer up these kids."
Todd Collier, general superintendent for the construction company overseeing the project, said everyone on his crew is proud to work on the project and doubly touched to be part of the dance party that helped so many children facing terminal illnesses smile.