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Stories: Flora the clown has the magic touch

‘I’ve always felt the clown being out of place in the hospital and being vulnerable and alone mirrors the child’

One minute Biravina’s face is covered with a mask as a nurse treats her laboured breathing.

The next it’s in front of a bubble tube held by a clown named Flora. “Coming up is the magic” the eight-year-old promises, pursing her lips and blowing an extra large bubble that wobbles unsteadily through the air.

Biravina, who’s receiving rehabilitation at Bloorview following her body’s rejection of a bone-marrow transplant, receives a weekly visit from Flora - a therapeutic clown with a red nose, floppy hat and bag of wind-up toys, animals, bubble bears and stickers.

“We offer the children permission to play and laugh, which is healing in its own way, a supportive relationship and empowerment,” says Camilla Gryski, also known as Flora. “We create a safe play space within the hospital that the child controls. In that little world, the child can go anywhere, make up stories, be a king or a princess. It’s a respite from the medical intervention that’s going on.”

Biravina is being followed by Flora at Bloorview through a Hospital for Sick Children program. But Bloorview is about to welcome its own clown - funded by Therapeutic Clowns Canada. The clown will initially work on Unit 3. “Because the children on that unit are more dependent on technology, they spend more time in their rooms and we think it’s a great idea to have a clown come to them,” says Marusia Heney, child life specialist.

Camilla notes that the clown’s greatest strength is her vulnerability. Appearing somewhat incompetent and getting into trouble “allows the child to take care of the clown,” she says. “I’ve always felt the clown being out of place in the hospital and being vulnerable and alone mirrors the child, who, even though supported by family, has to cope with their illness (or disability) alone. Within that metaphor, the clown shows that it’s okay not to know things. It gives the child an opportunity to be the one who knows and takes care of the clown.”

To be connected with expert sources, contact:

Louise Kinross, Manager, Communications
Tel: 416-424-3866
Pager: 416-589-8826
E-mail: media at bloorview dot ca

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