Joss and May in the AMC

Years ago, when I spent my days writing, I created a story that had the working title ‘The habitués of the AMC’. I was fascinated that there were children who spent more days in the hospital than at home. In the AMC, I met Professor Heijmans, head of the children's department, who wanted to transform the children's department into a cozy place before his retirement (which was lurking around the corner).

A cinema had to be created so that sick children really had an ‘asset’ to entice their classmates to visit. And there had to be rooms where parents could sleep if necessary. Or a place where you could retreat for a moment without sitting in a stuffy waiting room for a machine with cup coffee.

The department is finished. There is even a Professor Heijmans square. And how beautiful I find it that I am a very small link in the chain that makes it a little more pleasant for children and their families in the hospital. Together with Albert Verlinde, Halina Reijn, and Barbara Barend, I am an ambassador for the Gilat Foundation. Gilat was a girl with a rare disease. Because of that, she was one of the ‘habitués’. She knew all the doctors and was the cheerful note of the department.

When she passed away, her parents knew one thing for sure. To keep her memory alive, there had to be entertainment in the hospital. And not just in the AMC, but in all academic hospitals in the country.

The Gilat Foundation has its own theaters in the VU and the AMC and ensures that children are read to by Youp van ’t Hek, receive a piano performance from the Jussen brothers, or can chat with Carice van Houten.

Now Josselin and I were asked to come help for an afternoon. In the light of these greats, we felt a bit insignificant. And there was quite a pressure on our shoulders. But what turned out: the girls thought it was great to make mood boards with us. Or they were polite enough to pretend. Either way, we had the most beautiful Tuesday afternoon of the year. With the girls, with their doctors, and with their mothers.

For a moment, not talking about illness, for a moment everyone equal, not one healthy and the other not, just cutting and crafting together. No matter how light-hearted it was, it was all good for a moment.

Moved and humble, Joss and I went home. We ended up in the longest traffic jam ever, but we were happy about it. To chat a bit, count our blessings, and be glad that we could bring a tiny extra spark of light to the AMC...

Do you also want to do something for the children in the hospital? Here you can find the Facebook page of Gilat. Become friends. No one has ever become worse from that.