Shortly after Laurie Strongin and Allen Goldberg’s son Henry was born in 1995, he was diagnosed with Fanconi anemia. The disease—which can cause bone marrow failure, increased risk of cancer and organ defects—required Henry to undergo open heart surgery, a bone marrow transplant and other procedures.
In an attempt to make the treatments a bit more bearable, Strongin and Goldberg created a “magic closet” in the hospital, where Batman action figures would appear after Henry accomplished something difficult, such as getting a peripheral IV or radiation. The rewards always made the little boy—who was a Batman fanatic—smile, his parents recalled.
Don't Miss: Baylor Scott & White connects patients with dogs trained to comfort, assist
“For kids to do all the incredibly difficult things they need to do to recover, it’s going to take a lot more than medicine,” Strongin said.
A year after Henry died at age 7, his parents co-founded the nonprofit Hope for Henry in his honor. Inspired by the “magic closet,” Hope for Henry uses behavioral economics to nudge kids toward actions that are in their long-term healthcare interests, Strongin said.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization is working with child life specialists, technicians and nurses in 34 hospitals and more than 150 pharmacies in an attempt to bring smiles to kids’ faces, put parents at ease, and help clinicians provide more efficient care. The nonprofit’s programming is on track to be in 50 hospitals by the end of the year.
