Easter Bunny makes surprise stop at hospital

Miranda Boothe of Glendale Heights had big plans for Easter.

She, her husband, David, and her daughter Kaileanne, 2, were going to paint and hunt for eggs.

Instead, they ended up in Central DuPage Hospital Easter morning because Kaileanne couldn't hold down any food. But to their surprise, an Easter Bunny made their morning.

DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba teamed up with a Florida-based nonprofit group, The Easter Bunny Inc., and arranged for sick children at Central DuPage Hospital to get a visit.

A white bunny, along with a handful of explorer scouts and other sheriff's office employees, walked around the hospital's 30-bed pediatric unit and handed out stuffed animals and coloring books.

The Easter Bunny's visit is a tradition now, and has been done annually for the past several years.

"It's so hard for these families at this time," Cpl. Randy Groh said. "To see the kids smile, that's the best part."

Miranda Boothe enjoyed the visit.

"I definitely, greatly appreciate the Easter Bunny visit," she said. "They could have been home with their families, but it's nice that they took time to come out here."

Kaileanne smiled as she played with her coloring book.

"Bunny go bye-bye," she said looking around.

Mary Olmstead of Sugar Grove also was at the hospital with her husband, Scott, and son, Linden.

Linden, who'll be 3 next month, was diagnosed as a diabetic early Sunday morning. Scott Olmstead said the bunny's surprise visit was very uplifting.

"It was great," Mary Olmstead said. "(Linden) was really excited, and that's the most important part."

DuPage County Sheriff's Detective Mike Drugan was very proud of the explorer scouts who volunteered to help with the morning visits. Often, you hear about kids and teens being lazy, he said.

"It's Easter Sunday, but they still wanted to come out," Drugan said.

Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Dawn Domrose also heaped praise on the scouts.

"It's just a great opportunity for them to see what happens outside of their little world," she said. "It's just a reality check. And it just shows what a great group it is."