Happy Fourth of July from The Infusion Room

I was sitting on a bench in the hospital lobby two days before the Fourth of July, with my art supplies, awaiting orders. Eventually, a volunteer appeared and introduced herself.

“We’re going to the infusion center today.  Have you been there before?”

I shook my head. I didn’t even know what an infusion center was.

I followed her up the hospital elevator, carrying all my art gear with me.

I am a part of this hospital’s enrichment program. As a traveling caricaturist, I come in and draw the kids and often their siblings, who are also stuck in the hospital, sometimes indefinitely.

After twists and turns though the labyrinthine halls, We came to the infusion room and the volunteer opened the door. What I saw took my breath away.

It was kind of like when Willy Wonka opens the doorway to the waterfall room.

I looked around. The infusion room was large, sunny, lit with skylights, and brightly colored, and there were posters and toys and even a fish tank with a riot of fish chasing each other around the tank. They even had a puffer fish!

In contrast to the bright colors, were the kids, in hospital beds, maybe about 16 in total. Each kid shared an area with another kid and their families. They were all hooked up to tubes. And they all looked sick, bored and unhappy.

I Imagined how scary it must be to be stuck in the hospital as a kid, especially on a holiday. Some Happy Fourth of July.

I went over to the first bed. The volunteer introduced herself to them, and then she said to the mom who was also there:

“We have an artist here today to draw caricatures of you and your kids. Would you like one?”

The haggard Looking mom looked up. “How much does it cost?”

“It’s free,” I said. “The hospital is paying for it.” They actually got a special grant for this, but I don’t go into it. I would probably do this for free. But they are paying, and I’m not turning the money down.

She shrugged as if to say - go ahead.

So I sat in the rolling chair the volunteer helped me with, and I spoke to the first kid. He was getting an infusion of something. He had no hair so I assume he was on chemo. I don’t know for sure though. I am not supposed to ask what’s wrong with them. I’m there to take their minds off of their illnesses, not remind them of them.

I introduced myself and told the kid, who looked to be about 10, that he could be whatever he wanted.

At first he wanted to be a horror film character, but thankfully his mom talked him out of it and he decided on soccer.

That’s an easy one. I do them all the time. I  could do it in my sleep.

I drew the boy quickly with deft strokes. As I drew, we chatted.

I asked the mom how long the infusion would take. “Oh about 4 hours.” She said. She was so mater of fact. This was her life.  Their life.

Her other 2 kids were with her too, one older than  the boy, one younger. and they all sat there listlessly looking at tablets.

When I was done, I showed the boy his picture and he was all smiles.

“How did you DO that?” He asked.

I smiled. “Lots and lots of practice,” I said. My standard (and true) answer.

I then drew his sisters - one as a softball player, another as a volleyball player. Hm. They must be a sports family.

This must be so hard on them. They’re used to being outside and being physical. I did my best to make their caricatures fun.

Their faces transformed when I showed them their drawings.

The best transformation however was the face of the mom. She was beaming.

They all thanked me and I thanked them and got up to go to the next kid.

The next one was a girl who wanted to be a mermaid. She had been spending her time watching the fish in the aquarium, and She wanted the puffer fish from the fish tank in her  drawing. How creative!

So instead of putting this little mermaid on sand or a rock like I usually do, I decided to make her underwater.

I drew her with all the fish from the fish tank swimming around her, and her doing a swirly underwater dance. As a last thought, I made the puffer fish blown up and cross-eyed.

I showed the girl and she giggled and clapped her hands with glee. If she weren’t in a hospital bed I think I might have gotten a hug.

I made my way around the room.

One boy wanted to be Naruto. I had to look that one up. One wanted to be a Lego man. That one I have memorized. It turned out about what you’d think - funny.

And one wanted to be an architect, like his daddy. Which made me smile.

I kept going around the room, drawing kids and their siblings.

One older girl who had on lip gloss wanted to be Disgust from Inside Out. She was deadpan as I drew her, no hint of a smile, even when I asked for one.

The nurse asked me “Have you ever done an inside out character before?”

“I’ve done Joy at least twice before,” I said, “but never Disgust. This will be fun.”

I looked up what the character looked like with my phone. As I worked I realized something about this girl. Maybe it was the lip gloss. Maybe it was the upward tilt of her sassy head. Whatever it was, I’d been tipped off by her face and demeanor.

“So, Do you like Disgust due to her fashion sense?” I asked the girl. I’m always trying to figure people out. There’s always a reason they pick what they do. Figuring that out helps me figure out how to draw them.

She nodded and licked her lips, her face still inscrutable.

When I turned it around I was gratified to see a smile creep across her face. She gave me a cockeyed smile - one side bigger than the other.

“ I like that,” she said. “I like that.”

I think she was surprised that she liked it.

I wrapped it up and she thanked me.

Caricature of a girl as Disgust from Inside Out

The last one I needed to do was a girl I had drawn before at a different hospital event. I recognized her from her beautiful name - Ocean.

She seemed to remember me, but her face was drawn as if in pain, unlike last time when I drew her.

Last time I drew her was at the hospital Christmas tree lighting and she was happy and walking around. Not stuck in a hospital bed getting an infusion a couple of days before the 4th of July.

I asked her what she picked last time and she said mermaid. So I asked what she’d like this time.

She said very definitively,

“Riding a horse.”

The nurse was there adjusting her meds and said “oh, you like horses?” They’re always trying to figure out things the kids like. It can help a lot with morale.

Ocean’s doting grandfather was there with her and he interjected, saying, “Ocean could ride from the time she could walk. We have a ranch with horses. She loves to ride.”

Ocean agrees. “I just love horses ,” she said.

“Uh oh,” I said. “I’m not very good at drawing horses. Y’all are going to give me a run for my money today.”  Ocean smiled slightly. The first glimmer of a smile I’d seen that day so far from her.

I set to work on the drawing. Her face was the easy part. Then I had to get her body in a seated position and draw the horse around her.

I finished it up, not entirely pleased with the horses forelocks. Like I said I’m not the best at horses. Especially having to draw them from memory. I wasn’t sure if Ocean would like it.

I finished up and flipped the drawing around.

Ocean’s  entire face lit up and I Knew she loved it. I smiled too. Oh I just love this part of my job.

As I was leaving that day, the activity director, who had been present in the infusion room and seen the kids reactions, said “thank you so much. You made those kids so happy. You were awesome , as usual.”

I thanked her, and left thinking about this.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m making enough of a difference in this world. After all what is what I do? It’s just a silly sketch.

But then I remember. The world is dark. I’m spreading light and love in a very dark and scary place.

I can’t do it for everyone. But I can help one person, with one drawing at a time.

You go and do the same thing now, with whatever you have.

Use it to encourage, to uplift, and to spread goodness in this dark old world.

People need you.

Blessings

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Hi, my name is kathy buskett and I’ve been a traveling caricature artist for 26 years.

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