'Humor cart' brings light touch to heavy hearts

What part do bubbles, games, magic tricks and funny glasses play in the care of pediatric and adolescent patients at Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital in Park Ridge?

Very important when they are part of the "special medicine" that travels from room to room on the humor cart. The colorful volunteers dressed in funny hats and aprons, spewing jokes and bubbles, bring smiles and belly laughs wherever they go.

"The humor cart is just one of the many ways that volunteers assist the professional staff at Lutheran General," said Colette Urban, manager of media relations. "Currently we have eight volunteers who staff the cart, but we would certainly welcome more."

Donna Mermel of Northbrook and Beth Polonsky of Arlington Heights have been friends since their children were little. They embarked on their humor cart at Lutheran General after attending a Jewish Women's International conference in 1979 that highlighted a program at Shriner's Hospital in St. Louis.

Mermel, whose son, Craig, is a pediatric leukemia survivor, knows firsthand how therapeutic laughter can be. Craig was diagnosed when he was 12 and underwent three years of chemo. He is now 26 and studying oncology research at Harvard University.

"When our son was a patient, anything that could take our minds off why we were at the hospital was a welcome relief. To sit and laugh allowed us some sense of normalcy," Mermel said.

Families, not just the sick child, react to the cart.

"I understand the stress and anxiety they are undergoing," she added. "We can't change their situation, but we can readjust their focus for a few minutes. Laughter and good humor provide emotional and physical benefits. The cart is a great project, and laughing with the kids and feeling that we are making a difference in a patient's stay is very uplifting."

Polonsky feels blessed to be able to do this.

"I work in the volunteer sector because I want to do something good with my life," Polonsky said. "I enjoy the interaction, it's fun, and working with the cart brings me a great deal of satisfaction."

Trained volunteers have pushed the humor cart since 1998. At first, Mermel and Polonsky were involved in all aspects of the cart. Currently, they are coordinators, and the hospital's Child Life Department sponsors and administers the program. Mermel and Polonsky still recruit and train volunteers, order supplies and do whatever needs to be done.

Mermel and her husband, Paul, are the parents of three children, Craig, Rachel and Lauren and the proud grandparents of Mayson, who is 4 months old. Polonsky and her husband, Mitchell have a son, Aaron, and a daughter, Jenny Ingber.