High-pitched robotic beeps, trills and whistles nearly matched the squeals and laughter of 5-year-old Declan Ambrose as he caught a glimpse of his all-time favorite Star Wars character, R2-D2. He came face to face with the life-sized droid not in a galaxy far, far away, but at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where Declan had recently undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor.

 

“When he woke up this morning, he immediately asked if it was Star Wars day,” says his mom, Stevi. “You would never know he had surgery just four days ago.”

 

On Feb. 3, seven local Star Wars volunteer characters, including allies from the Rebel Alliance and villains from the dark side, spent the day at the Children’s Center with one common goal: to make patients forget they were in the hospital.

 

“Sometimes the hardest part about getting better is actually getting up and getting out of bed,” says Patrice Brylske, director of child life for The Johns Hopkins Hospital. “How do you motivate kids when they feel so poor?  Today, we see children—who haven’t gotten out of bed for days—who got up and came down to interact with the Star Wars characters.”

 

Having watched a screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story the previous evening, many inpatients at the Children’s Center and outpatients at the Harriet Lane Clinic were awestruck at seeing R2-D2, Jedi Masters, stormtroopers, a biker scout and an X-Wing pilot in real life. They danced with R2-D2 to Star Wars tunes, high-fived and fist-bumped the characters, and asked the ever-important question: “Are you a good guy or a bad guy?” Everyone agreed—they were all good guys that day.

 

Pediatrician-in-Chief Tina Cheng and Pediatric Surgeon-in-Chief David Hackam, co-directors of the Children’s Center, joined in the fun to give R2-D2 a thorough checkup. Two Jedi Masters also taught patients how to become Johns Hopkins Jedis with Force training and lightsaber demonstrations. Kids made their own paper R2-D2s and chose a toy, T-shirt or lightsaber of their own from the swag table. 

 

Later in the day, the characters made bedside visits to children who couldn’t leave their rooms. The event was made possible by Lucasfilm and its associated Star Wars: Force for Change platform, as well as local volunteers from the 501st Legion, the Rebel Legion, Terrapin Base and droid builders.

 

For patients and families, the visit was a welcome relief to an otherwise chaotic time in their lives. “My son has been miserable and just wouldn’t get out of bed, until today,” says another mother, whose son could be seen smiling through his surgical mask while learning how to hold his lightsaber. “This was much more than just something to do.”

 

When asked if he was having fun, Declan, wielding a lightsaber and sporting Star Wars gear from head to toe, yelled, “This is the best day ever!”