ST. LOUIS – It is officially the Christmas season at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after a very special patient helped turn the lights on Tuesday night.
“I’m excited about turning all the lights on,” Maelani Chatmon said.
Chatmon, 5, got to pick out a new Christmas outfit specifically for Tuesday’s big event.
“We got a new dress. She got this whole outfit brand new. She wanted to wear something Christmasy,” said Kennedy Barnett, Maelani’s mom. “As a child, the magic of Christmas is always an exciting thing for them but to be picked out of everyone in the hospital, that’s a pretty memorable thing to be recognized.”
Maelani is known as Might Mae around the children’s hospital.
“She is outstanding. She is always up for the challenge, no matter what we throw at her, and she’s really incredible,” Dr. Frederick Huang said.
Dr. Huang is Mae’s pediatric oncologist. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, which is a nerve cell cancer. On Tuesday, her illness took a backseat to let her glowing personality light up the season for everyone.
“She is a ham as you can tell. She loves this place and I knew it would be a different visit than what she normally comes here for,” said Barnett.
