Children's hospital gets 'another dose of medicine'

Jarayl Brown clutched the large teddy bear, panda bear and Raggedy Ann doll Tuesday morning as she sat up in her hospital bed inside The Children's Hospital at Midtown Medical Center.

Members of the Columbus public safety community had just delivered another stuffed animal to go with about a dozen scattered around her room.

"It makes me happy," the 7-year-old girl said.

Jarayl, who has Sickle Cell Disease, has been in the hospital for three days fighting pneumonia. Her mother, Keshunna Johnson, watched as her daughter interacted with the firefighters and law enforcement officials.

"This is like another dose of medicine," Johnson said of the gifts of love that flow into local hospitals during the holiday season.

Representatives from half a dozen public safety agencies were going room to room in The Children's Hospital giving away stuffed animals and other items. It is part of an annual effort that has been organized by Columbus Recorder's Court Judge Michael Cielinski for more than 25 years.

These types of holiday giveaways are commonplace at local hospitals this time of year, Child Life Specialist Mailey Wright said as she worked with the more than two dozen officers and firefighters.

"I definitely think that this is a dose of medicine," she said.

And the medicine is coming from church groups, law enforcement and people just wanting to do something nice for those who are in a difficult place during the Christmas season. Already this year, about two dozen groups have been inside The Children's Hospital spreading holiday joy, Wright said.

"It is magical when you see this community come together at the busiest time of the year for everybody," she said. "It is wonderful to see people stopping and doing something special for someone else."

This is the fifth year that Columbus State University Police Department Sgt. James Geeslin has participated in the law enforcement event.

"Life is not fair," he said. "The biggest thing for me is it is unfortunate that children are here at all, but it is especially unfortunate that they are here over Christmas."

There is another benefit of participating, Geeslin said.

"It puts a good face on law enforcement," he said. "It lets them know things are not like what they see on TV. We do care and we will be here for them."

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Children's hospital gets 'another dose of medicine' ."