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A love reserved for royalty

While the boys hang out with police officers, the girls are pampered for the Queen for a Day Tea Party.

By JONNELLE MARTE
Published June 24, 2006

TAMPA - Donning a pink tiara and a Dora the Explorer nightgown, 4-year-old Jenna Kearns beamed Friday afternoon.

With her nails and makeup freshly done, the last thing on the little Wesley Chapel girl's mind was the IV hooked up to her arm.

She was a queen for the day.

Jenna was one of 15 patients at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital who got away from their hospital rooms to get dressed up and pampered for the Queen for a Day Tea Party, run by Queen for a Day, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the self-esteem of children in hospitals.

"Our goal is to spend one hour with them and have them smile the whole time," said Leah Campanella, director of Queen for a Day's Tampa chapter.

Pageant winners and other volunteers did the girls' makeup and nails and helped them make bracelets and door hangers.

The boys were not left out of the fun. They hung out with Tampa police officers, who handed out wristbands and hats.

Linda Louise Greiff, 6, has been in the hospital since Tuesday, when she had a pacemaker implanted to keep her heartbeat regular.

Linda, who was born with Rett syndrome, had her makeup and nails done from her wheelchair.

"With all of the medical things that she has to do, it's nice to have something fun for her to do that doesn't involve needles," said her mother, also named Linda, of Tampa.

Andrew Williams, 3, of Tampa was hooked up to a machine that drained the fluid building up in his chest, but that didn't faze him. Wearing a red fire chief hat and red beads, he decorated a door hanger.

Sierra Leguillow, 6, of Orlando wasn't thinking about her recent open-heart surgery while she and her twin, Damaris, paraded around with matching hairstyles and pink feather boas around their necks.

All of the girls walked away wearing real tiaras donated by former pageant winners.

This was the hospital's third tea party.

"It's nice to just see them smile," said Tiffany Raia, 19, of St. Petersburg, who was crowned Miss Florida Hometown USA in November. "I know how much they go through."

Jonnelle Marte can be reached at jmarte@sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.

[Last modified June 24, 2006, 09:42:37]