Islanders Trio Visit Hospitalized Kids for Holidays

A trio of New York Islanders paid a visit to some of their largest pint-sized fans in the fifth floor children's ward at last week, just in time for the holidays. Forward Frans Nielsen, defensemen Jack Hillen and goalie Dwayne Roloson donned heir blue, orange and white jerseys Tuesday afternoon to hand out toys and gifts as part of an Emblem Health initiative to bring a little Christmas and holiday cheer to children being treated for various conditions and who may have to spend some of the holiday season in the hospital instead of at home celebrating.

"The kids just get so excited about it every year and its nice that we know far in advance so we know particular Islander fans, chronic patients that really do enjoy the Islanders, we can invite them ahead of time and they really love it," Child Life Program Director Nicole Almeidi said as the children were led into the small playroom at one end of the ward.

The room offers a brief respite from the daily reminders of hospital life for the young patients, stacked with many shelves full of books, board games, a few computer terminals and a modest video game center. This day, a mountain of newly arrived toys and electronics were stacked on one of the card tables, causing almost as much wide-eyed wonder in the children as seeing the players themselves.

"I think they're just kind of in awe that they come," Almeidi said, referring to the children getting to meet the players. "We're just happy to get whoever we can and we're just so fortunate that the Islanders organization does this with us every year."

Children admitted into the ward can be diagnosed with any number of conditions including appendicitis, gastroenterological, cancer, flu and pneumonia. "We really run the gamut of all different issues that the kids are facing when they come up here," Almeidi said. Patients range in age from just a few days after birth up to age 21. While the average stay in the ward is usually a few days, some have been admitted several months, while others are just there for a night or two.

A self-described lifetime Islander fan, Karl Zaharia was one of the young patients in the ward Tuesday. Though he has followed the Islanders "for a long time," Karl took the experience in stride because he's been through a similar experience with the team: dropping the puck at Nassau Coliseum at the Oct. 29 game between the Islanders and Canadiens. With dad Karl Sr. and mom Sue standing nearby, the young leukemia patient received a new MP3 player from Nielsen, one of his favorite players. "This is pretty up there," Karl said, smiling.

Some of the other children were a bit timid going up to the players or receiving a gift, but everyone was able to come away with something from the table, with a number of gifts still left over. The players also stayed behind to sign jerseys, t-shirts and an incredible amount of player cards for the children who could not come into the playroom, and then made rounds to see those children in their beds to make sure they received something. This is Rolloson's second year visiting the children's ward, and the third for Hillen and Nielsen. As he made his way through the stack of player cards signing his name, Hillen told the staff gathered that "I'll keep going until someone tells me to stop," though he might not have only been referring to the autographs.