Recently, my friend Chuck mentioned that he was performing magic for hospitalized kids through an organization called Open Heart Magic (OHM). As a kid who spent considerable time in hospitals, this really hit home.

In 2003, Mike Walton, a commodities trader in Chicago, volunteered and started to perform close-up magic for hospitalized children of all ages at Rush Children’s Hospital. Through months of performances, and with the assistance of Robyn Hart (Director of Child Life services), Walton honed his skills to emphasize patient interaction and empowerment. Walton received such positive feedback from everyone that he decided to enlarge the scope to include children at other hospitals, while continually improving the magic to reach all children no matter their condition. After months of setup work, Open Heart Magic was officially registered as a not-for-profit (NFP) organization in 2004.

Because of the sensitive nature involved, potential volunteer magicians are closely screened and must attend a 12-week training course; each week covers a different agenda, from specific tricks to interacting with patients and their parents. After the 12 weeks, successful candidates attend the hospital’s volunteer orientation. This covers issues such as hygiene, confidentiality and patient interaction. For example, the conversation should be upbeat, focused primarily on the magic and never on the condition of the patient. Shadowing a veteran magician is the last step, before the new volunteer ventures out solo.

When the volunteer enters the room, the magic really begins and I am not speaking just about the 15-minute sleight-of-hand performances. Walton states, “We don’t want to just be a nice diversionary magic show, but a tool used by hospitals and parents to help their kids feel stronger, leaving them with something positive that will help them fight and laugh like kids should.”

As a former longtime patient, I know the feeling of helplessness. Hours turn into days; days into weeks. Especially as a child patient, I had virtually no control over any part of my day. OHM attempts to address that feeling of helplessness. According to Chuck, “The main underlying theme is to bring power and decision-making to the patient. In the hospital (adults, too), patients are stripped of control; they are told when to eat, sleep, take a pill, walk, turn over, when to have an x-ray, when to bathe, etc. Our role is to have them pick a card, decide what magic word to say, etc.”

Because of demand and the overwhelming feeling of helping these children, Walton is working on expanding the programs, including teaching some tricks to doctors. However, because of all that is involved, any expansion will be developed with the same level of scrutiny as all other parts of OHM. The patient will always come first; and each magician, each performance, must be able to deliver the same “wow” factor. Walton summarized, “Bedside Magic just doesn’t entertain someone at the hospital, it transforms him or her from a sad child into someone who is laughing and energized again. While it’s not a magic pill, the effects of reaching these kids truly feels like magic.”

For me, this is truly magical.

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist