One construction worker has installed a life-size game of "Where is Waldo" at Memorial Hospital of South Bend (Ind.) to entertain pediatric patients, according to the South Bend Tribune.
Jason Haney, a labor foreman working for general contract J.J. White on the hospital's $50 million expansion, has been hiding an 8-foot-tall plywood cut-out of the cartoon character around the construction site within view of the hospital's southern windows since early spring. When the pediatric patients spot Waldo, the notify Mr. Haney and he moves the cut-out to a new location.
Mr. Haney said he thought of the idea after workers built a snowman on the construction site, much to the amusement of patients and staff.
"One of the electricians said he thought it would be funny if there was a Waldo," Mr. Haney told the South Bend Tribune. Mr. Haney cut the Waldo out of plywood and he and his daughter painted the character together.
Mr. Haney said he is happy to give the patients of Memorial Hospital and their families something to smile about, because he remembers when he was in their shoes. When his daughter Taylor was 3 years old, she suffered a stroke.
Physicians initially thought Taylor would not be able to learn past the third grade, but after graduating from high school last year, she plans to attend Muncie, Ind.-based Ball State University to study biology and zoology, according to the report.
Now, Waldo is a source of fun for many of the pediatric patients who frequent the hospital. "It gives us something to talk about," said Tracy Byler, coordinator of the Child Life Program at Memorial Children's Hospital, according to the report. "A big part of what we want to do is build relationships, so anything that gives us a chance to talk, like 'Where's Waldo,' is great."