FALL CHURCH, Va. — Patients at a children’s hospital in Virginia were surprised with a greeting from some caped crusaders outside their windows.
Technical rescue crews with Fairfax County Fire & Rescue swapped their gear for costumes and rappelled down the side of Inova Children's Hospital in Fall Church on Tuesday, WJLA reports.
Battalion Chief Matt Burns and firefighter Loren Jewell were among them. They dressed up as Captain American and Supergirl.
They wanted to show their support for the kids in the hospital.
"The kids were thrilled when they got to look out their windows and see superheroes coming to say, ‘Hi.’ During COVID, they haven't gotten any special visitors inside," said Jamie Gentille, Director of Child Life Services at Inova Children's Hospital.
Jewell knows firsthand how important these kinds of visits can be.
"When I was 14 years old, I had bone cancer, childhood cancer, and I treated for my cancer here in this hospital,” she said. "I've been on the other side of the glass, so to be able to be on this side of the glass today and connect with them and just show them that they're not alone and we’re here."
The firefighters say they want to make this at least an annual event to boost the spirits of the kids at the hospital, as well as their own.
"The whole reason firefighters become firefighters is to do something for their community and the kids are always the ones closest to our heart and this is best about," said Burns.
