USSVI Seattle Base Kap(ss) 4 Kid(ss) visits Children's Hospital

Seattle Base Kap(ss) 4 Kid(ss) organizer John Roberts sent us this report from the group's first outing. 

On Monday, December 2nd, Doug Abramson, Pat Householder, Steve Shelton and I visited Seattle’s Children’s Hospital as part of the USSVI’s Kap(SS) 4 Kid(SS) program. It was a terrific and exceptionally rewarding experience.

We were split into two groups of two each and rotated between entertaining children who were in the Playroom and visiting more seriously ill children in their rooms. All in all, we interacted with 16 girls and boys between the ages of 6 and 15, all of who received Honorary Submariner certificates and Dolphin emblazoned hats, as well as photos of various subs and coloring books.

The kids were excited to see us and asked a lot of questions. A little girl in the Playroom went over to an easel and started drawing a picture of a submarine for us. One young man was connected to several medical devices and was sedated to the point that he had to struggle to pay attention to our conversation but he thanked us for our visit and gifts and insisted on shaking our hands before we left.

Seattle Base members John Roberts and Steve Shelton with the newest Honorary Submariner

When visiting the rooms we had to use sanitizing gel on our hands before entering and again upon leaving. On several occasions we were required to wear gowns, masks and gloves because of viral concerns. Some of the parents were active duty or recent veterans in their own right and thanked us profusely for our attentions to their children. We were discouraged from taking photos but are hopeful that any concerns about this will be relaxed during future visits. But one young mother and father insisted on taking our picture with their son. She graciously emailed it to us and it’s the one shown above.

As this was our initial visit, we sat down immediately afterwards to capture lessons learned and to incorporate changes that might make future visits more fluid. We also began to make plans for regular visits to Children’s Hospital and to follow up on leads to other organizations as we plan to make this program a regular part of fulfilling our purpose to "Perpetuate the memory of our shipmates who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties while serving their country. That their dedication, deeds and supreme sacrifice be a constant source of motivation toward greater accomplishments.”

You can learn more about the Kap(ss) 4 Kid(ss) program on the USSVI website.