Making Magic for Cedars-Sinai Patients

Thursdays are simply magical at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's. That's when volunteer Patrick Heitkam entertains patients and their families with his magic tricks.

Walking into a patient room, he pulls a banana out of the pocket of his uniform jacket, and then another and another. As the bananas magically multiply, the mood in the room starts to shift and there are giggles and smiles from the patient and family.

"Every room is different, every family is different," Heitkam said. "As a performer, I hope they like what I'm doing. It makes me so happy when they laugh or when they smile."

Maureen Chin, MSN, RN, associate director of Pediatrics, knows how important these visits can be.

"When you're in the hospital, it can get very boring for kids, especially when a patient is here for many days," Chin said. "Having Patrick come in and do some magic tricks is a very nice distraction, and patients love it. They ask, 'Is he coming back again today?'"

Heitkam has a healthy repertoire of tricks that can be done at the bedside, including card and rope tricks. And then there's his fan favorite: making a sponge bunny multiply into many bunnies inside a patient's closed fist.

"He made me giggle and laugh," said Kaylee De La Riva, 12, who was recovering from a kidney transplant. "And I was happy and my mom and aunt were impressed too, and I was impressed."

Heitkam is glad his magic has been good medicine for patients and their families.

"But it's also been therapeutic for me," Heitkam said. "I hope the kids like it, but I'm probably getting more out of it than they are because it just gives me so much perspective in my own life."

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Spread Joy by Helping Others This Holiday Season