The Clown Doctor
All over the world, children in hospital are being treated with a new kind of medicine: laughter. Paula is 23 and works for Theodora Children's Trust, She is one of many clown doctors who bring a smile to the faces of sick children.
"I'm a Theodora clown doctor, I call myself Dr. PohPoh. I spend two days a week in children's hospitals being extremely silly with my friend and colleague Dr. Chequers. We make funny faces, tell jokes, and do magic tricks. As I walk into the wards I blow bubbles, shake hands with the kids, and make up nonsense songs for those children well ennough to sing. We take special ballons to make balloon animals and tell funny stories about them. We often meet kids who one week look really sick, then, when we go back the next they're racing about yelling; "Hi there Dr. PohPoh! Hi Dr. Chequers!"
I'm naturally a very cheerful person. I knew it was just the job for me and I became a clown doctor because I think It's a great way to cheer up sick, frightened children in hospital. I've always been a clown , In fact my father's a clown and I started working with him when I was eight years old. Now I wear a fancy coat, a yellow shirt,and tights with big stripes. Also, I have a red rubber nose and wear my hair in crazy plaits.
Being a clown in a hospital is very tiring, though, both physically and emotionally. We have to learn not to show our feelings, otherwise we'd be useless. Clown doctors are sensitive but this is not a side most poeple see. To the children we're happy all the time. I'm still learning to allow myselsf to feel sad occasionally.
There are special kids you get really close to. At the moment I'm working with a very sick little girl from Bosnia who speaks no English so our only common language is laughter. She's been in and out of hospital for operation so many times ans she's always on my mind.
At lunch time we eat in the hospital cafeteria and that's really useful because we meet the nurses and doctors. They tell us about particular kids who they think will benefit from a clown doctor visit. If a child is frightened, perharps they're being given an injection or some nasty medicine - we can distract them so the nurses can do their job.
About six o'clock Dr Chequers and I take off our make-up and change our clothes. We're totally exhausted. Sometimes I have a night out with friends, it helps me unwind. When I finally fall into bed, I crash out. At weekends we are often asked to participate in events to raise money for Theodora Children's Trust. It's a charity; so we are paid with the money poeple give. Being a clown doctor makes the worries of everyday life seem small. All in all, I feel priviledged to do this job.
