a Jurassic Park pinball machine offered to children hospitalized at Hautepierre hospital

This Tuesday, December 22, it was Christmas before the hour for the children and parents of the family house at Hautepierre hospital in Strasbourg. A pinball machine was delivered by the association Lights in the eyes to try to make the hours spent in hospital less painful.

–

A few days before Christmas, the families welcomed to support their children hospitalized at the Hautepierre hospital in Strasbourg received a nice gift. This Tuesday, December 22, a brand new Jurassic Park pinball machine was installed in the family house from the Ronald McDonald Foundation (see Facebook post below). A nice surprise made possible thanks to the association Lights in the eyes, which works to improve reception conditions for sick children by installing games in hospitals or in centers receiving them.

This pinball machine is the third to be installed by the association. Before the family house, the waiting rooms of the pediatric service and the onco-hematology service of the Strasbourg University Hospital have welcomed this new toy. With this approach, the 25 members of the association want to entertain, even for a moment, families and patients. In most cases, these families arrive without knowing when they will be able to leave.

“It is an object made to create dreams”

While the new generation of children swears by the screens, Benoit Petit-Demouliere, the president of the association, wanted to bring something new with an object from the past century. “The pinball machine is an object made to create dreams. When a child arrives in front, it is an object that he no longer knows. This machine creates envy. The desire to see the lights, the sounds, to go see this ball that rolls and that we barely control“, he launches. The pinball machine also has several advantages, such as being able to play alone or in a group. Enough to make stays in hospital less painful. Some 250 families stay at home each year. families.

For Rabia El Kamani, director of the parents’ center, this new game “will be used to brighten their days and to have fun, take pleasure in a particular context, that of a child’s illness. Here, we try to give new bearings, to bring well-being and entertainment to families.“

A pinball machine against smiles

Before its final installation, a pinball machine belonging to the president of the association had been tested for several months at the family house to judge its effectiveness. “We are awaiting the return of health executives to find out if this brings anything.“Once the families conquered, the association Lights in the eyes launched an appeal for donations to finance the game worth 7,000 euros.”It was funded by individuals, by a kitty launched online and then by a friend who made an appeal within his family. It is the realization of all these efforts“, explains Benoit Petit-Demouliere. Far from comparing himself to Santa Claus, he considers himself rather a”bearer of joy.“

–