Molly Penny the clown marks 20 years of lifting spirits at CHEO
With her electric blue hair, bag of tricks and sense of humour, Molly Penny has played a vital role helping patients and families as CHEO's therapeutic clown for decades.
"She was actually a good friend for me and my husband being there, and she was great with the other kids," said parent Krystal Moreau. "Abigail would look forward to going to CHEO just to see Molly."
This year marks Molly Penny's 20th volunteer year.
"I'm really truly blessed to be in this situation because humour is amazing how it changes the situation from disaster mode into fun mode," said Molly Penny. "And you don't go with the medical part you just use your sense of humour and all the kids have a sense of humour."
"She is just as essential a part of our organization as the building, as the equipment, as the expertise and we just love her," said Alex Munter, CHEO president and CEO.
Molly Penny was an operating room nurse at CHEO for years before her second career was born after a clowning workshop.
"It allows them moments of laughter and fun and joy that can be a distraction to the illness or the surgery or the procedure that they need to have done," said Sarah Bigford, the development and rehabilitation clinical manager at CHEO.
There's no shortage of stories and surprises involving Molly Penny. Bigford recalls one time when she helped a shy boy meet one of his favourite hockey players during a visit with the Ottawa Senators.
"She sort of prepared him with some jokes and tricks that he could use as bit of an opening to warm up his conversation with the players and it just warmed my heart to see how she helped him achieve really something that was so important to him," Bigford said.
Molly Penny is there for kids and families through tough times too.
"You have to go with the plan with the kid and leave the parents in the background because you know what they're feeling and so once the kid starts to laugh then the parents eventually do come around, even though it's sad moments," Molly Penny said.
Molly Penny said the kids will always come first.
"I just like working with kids and that's the bottom line. The bottom line is … even if the Queen was here or Mr. Munter it wouldn't matter, the kid gets priority," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.