ANN ARBOR, MI – “Little Victors” at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Abor were visited by a trio of superheroes Friday.
The April 28 visit marked Mott’s 10th Superhero Day, so patients and staff continued their tradition of dressing up in superhero-themed outfits, which began in 2013. Each year on April 28 - known as National Superhero Day - window washers from Global Building Maintenance dress up as comic book characters and visit the hospital’s patients.
On a clear day, the heroes will don costumes under their usual equipment, rappelling down the building’s side to wave to patients on each floor and in the hospital’s dialysis clinic. This year, rainy weather meant the trio, dressed as Batman, Iron Man and Captain America, went floor-to-floor on foot.
Caleb Jusino, who donned the blue suit of Captain America, said the window washers were first invited to wear costumes to work the year a life-size Spiderman statue was donated to decorate the hospital’s lobby, and they’ve returned each year since.
“It’s great to see their smiles,” he said. “They either get really excited right away, or we get the side eye at first and they slowly warm up to us.”
“It’s cool seeing the kids reactions when they see their favorite character walking through,” Ryan Kerr added through his Iron Man mask.
After the heroes toured the hospital, patients were invited for photos and activities in the Family Center. Kids decorated superhero capes and masks as staff dressed in superhero gear handed out cape-wearing teddy bears. The kids also enjoyed a visit from Dashiel, the two-year-old Golden Retriever who serves as one of Mott’s three therapy dogs.
Among dozens of patients who snapped photos with Iron Man, Batman and Captain America was Jean Isaac Joseph, a 2-day-old infant who stopped by the Family Center before leaving the hospital for the very first time.
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