Moms With Hospitalized Kids Get Day Of Pampering To Celebrate Mother's Day
WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Mother's Day came early for moms whose children are hospitalized at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA.
They were treated to a little pampering in the form of facials, make-up, manicures and haircuts on Thursday with the hope of bringing a little stress-relief to their lives.
The nonprofit Beauty Bus Foundation supplied the day of beauty and Grace's Basket Foundation supplied lunch for 30 moms and their children at the second annual event.
Many of the children have complex illnesses that require multiple hospitalizations, often for weeks or months at a time.
One mother said her five-year-old girl suffers from a seizure disorder. As a pregnant mother-of-five, she doesn't get a lot of pampering.
"(It felt) really good. I needed it, because most of the time I'm caring for my daughter," she said.
Another woman's six-month-old will undergo her second heart surgery next week. But Thursday the worried mother had an opportunity to relax if only for an hour thanks to the Beauty Bus and beauty volunteers who came to the hospital.
"I don't like leaving her," the mother said. "But everybody told me I need to do stuff for myself."
Beauty Bus founder Wendy Levine told CBS2's Amy Johnson she hopes the special day will help these moms to endure difficult challenges and provide an opportunity to bring stress-relief and enjoyment into their lives.
"These mothers give so much to their children - working with them in the hospital, standing by their side - and the caregivers are often forgotten," she said.
One mom hadn't had a facial or a massage in 17 years.
Grace's Basket Founder Clare Suomi said her own daughter is a cancer survivor and she knows all too well what these mothers are going through. She only hopes she can pay it forward.
"When our daughter finished treatment we wanted to take care of other families who were in crisis," she explained.
For more information about The Beauty Bus Foundation, visit their website. Further information about Grace's Basket Foundation is available here.
