Bringing light: 'Merry Mixer' holiday truck visits patients at Children's Wisconsin

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A local hospital is bringing a little light to its patients ahead of the holidays.

Just outside the lobby of Children's Wisconsin hospital Wednesday, an Ozinga concrete mixer stopped by, decked with 35,000 colored lights dancing to Christmas music.

"I'm hoping that it puts them in the holiday spirit," said Leslie Scott, a child life specialist at Children's.

The Merry Mixer makes stops across Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana each year.

"It's held together by zip ties and love," laughed Andy Wydra, community relations coordinator of Ozinga. "This year we've been at 37 events within 27 days."

It's a way to make sure no one misses out on holiday cheer.

"Families who maybe aren't able to see out the window or aren't able to come down, they still get to participate via Zoom," Scott said.

"This made me feel happy, because I get to come out and see everything," said patient, Jacqueline Jones. "I didn't get to see no lights this year."

For Ozinga driver Jerimiah Perkins, the Merry Mixer is extra meaningful. His son is a regular patient at Children's.

"He gets to come home with us, you know, a lot of these kids don't," Perkins said. "For them to be able to come down to the lobby and cheer them up, it's a special time of year."

The Merry Mixer's visit is one of many holiday events coordinated for Children's Wisconsin patients this season.

"There are a lot of hard moments here at the hospital whether you're a patient or a staff member, and I think being able to come together like this, it just makes everything worth it," Scott said.

Before coming to Children's, the Merry Mixer stopped at Milwaukee's Ronald McDonald house.

Its next destination is Chicago's Navy Pier on Saturday.