Amber Des Roches had a dream. What was once a dream, is today a reality.
The Medcenter One children's wing has been transformed thanks in large part to the lead donation by area cooperatives.
"The children's hospital is my heart. It is. It's my heart."
Randi Schaeffer knew Amber Des Roches very well. During her four-year battle with cancer, Amber spent a lot of time at Medcenter undergoing treatments.
(Randi): She had a special book and that book was the Adventures of Peter Pan, the original Adventures of Peter Pan.
That book helped Amber escape during difficult times. Sadly, Amber lost her battle with cancer in December 2007 at just 15, but not before sharing her dream of having the children's hospital transformed into a magical place where fears are replaced with adventure. Amber ignited a spark that shed light on the need for a new children's hospital.
(Pam): ...after she passed away and my husband and I were kind of doing what we needed to do, we came across her things and for several weeks we talked about it and we kind of tossed around the idea of, 'well, can we do that?' Wouldn't it be nice if we could give back to the staff and to the doctors who helped Amber so much with such great car for four years and, I guess, we were just motivated by the idea and motivated by the idea of helping other families that came after us and the kids. We sort of decided that we really had nothing to lose.
Amber's Dream became official in 2009 following the lead gift donation of $80,000 by Basin Electric, Capital Electric, KEM Electric, Mor-Gran-Sou Electric, Roughrider Electric and Slope Electric cooperatives for the children's playroom.
(Hans): What we wanted for the playroom was the kids to perceivably in their imagination go through from the outside of Wendy's bedroom and you come into this adventure of there's Wendy's bedroom, then with obviously the rooftops of London, leading up to the adventures of Never Neverland.
(Randi): The playroom is a magical place like no other I've seen. If a child comes in there, there's developmental appropriate places for them, there's a quiet time to escape, there is developmental toys, there's music therapy, it's wonderful.
From the 3-D mural in the playroom to the pirate ship nurses' station to the lantern mailboxes, every detail of the project was considered.
(Hans): Working with Dwight Williams, creating those portal games was a specific challenge cause we wanted children, when they come to the nurses' station, you know, if the parent is consulting with the staff, they're not tagging at the pants or pulling. They're actually busy over here and it's the parent that has to pull the kid away and that's what we did with the portal games is create entertainment at their level and everything is specifically at their level.
(Deb): The journey has been a fun one, because we've met a lot of people and we've learned a lot and we've really gotten closer to what the kids need in this space, rather than just what the adults, or the staff or the doctors need.
(Randi): If it wouldn't be for Basin and their commitment and their dedication to children with cancer, not just Amber, but all children with cancer, all sick children, we wouldn't have this today.
(Randi): This is a legacy, not just a legacy for Medcenter; it's a legacy for our entire community.
Amber has been honored every year during Basin Electric's St. Baldrick's events and will be honored again this year. Her mom, Pam, has taken a special role this year coordinating with the families of the St. Baldrick's honorees.
(Pam): ...One of the things we've always felt was Amber was with us and kinds of pushing us along, maybe into areas that we might not have thought about and I like to think that she's still a big part of if, a big part of finishing this project and inspiring us all to think beyond our adult minds. Going to that magical place or being kid-like and maintaining that.
The Amber's Dream project is scheduled to be complete this spring.
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Jacob and music therapist (Ms Beth) during chemotherapyby Heidijmoore268 views
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