Stanford Children’s Hospital patients celebrate a non-traditional prom

It was a party Tyler Briend had been waiting to attend for a long time, and he wasn’t about to be late. So when the guests of honor were invited to enter Dunlevie Garden at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Friday night, Tyler strode in wearing a light blue three-piece suit accessorized with a purple and silver bow tie — perfect for the evening’s “cosmic dreams” theme. 

“He picked it all out on his own,” said Tyler’s mother, Jennie, who confided that she had suggested a blazer and jeans but that her 13-year-old son insisted on something special. 

Since 2005, teenage patients of the hospital who are living with chronic illnesses have been invited to take part in an adolescent milestone that many have missed due to their ongoing medical treatments — prom. Surrounded by banners, balloons and streamers that formed a sea of silvers, blues and purples, approximately 50 teenagers arrived with family members and friends to the event. 

Behind their beaming smiles, each carried the memories of countless hours spent in beds, operating rooms and treatment centers in the same hospital. 

Tyler was born with a single ventricle heart defect, which meant he had one functional pumping chamber instead of the usual two. In years past, he would sit in his room on an upper floor of the hospital and overlook the prom festivities. He had been adamant from a young age that he couldn’t wait to attend when he turned 13, his mother said. About a year ago, Tyler underwent a heart transplant, and he was now healthy and old enough to experience the prom, instead of only imagining the fun he could be having there. 

“The community at Lucile Packard is so much greater [to him] than the community of his regular school,” Jennie said. “The people here are invaluable to him.”

Anayeli Barajas, 14, made a sparkling entrance of her own, accompanied by her mother, Margarita, and one of her cousins. Anayeli wore a silver tiara, a light pink dress covered in delicate white bows and white Crocs embellished with pink bows. Her wheelchair was decorated in a similar color scheme, and the license plate on the back declared her to be a  “California Prom Queen.”

Anayeli is undergoing treatments to slow the spread of osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, according to her mother. She was released from inpatient care right before last year’s prom. This made Friday’s prom extra special for Anayeli and her family, marking a moment of achievement and celebration in her medical journey. 

Anayeli is now receiving treatment at home in Concord, Calif. with the help of her mom. They commute to the hospital once a week, with the drive taking as long as two or three hours each way depending on traffic.

During her year at the hospital, Anayeli and her family forged relationships with other patients and staff that were difficult to separate from so abruptly, her mother said. Being greeted enthusiastically by patients and staff when she arrived at the prom signaled to Anayeli and her mom that “we haven’t forgotten you,” said Margarita. 

In the 15 years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the prom had been organized by staff with the Packard Children’s Hospital School, which is part of the Palo Alto Unified School District. Since the pandemic, the hospital’s Child Life and Creative Arts Department has taken over the planning. Two members of the department were particularly involved: Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Child Life Special Events Coordinator Sydnee Dolphay and Child Life Specialist Kirsten Cotton-Sheldon.

Cotton-Sheldon said the most difficult aspect of planning stemmed from the question, “How do you transition a hospital into a prom space?” The challenge did not prove easy. The key considerations, she said, were safety and accessibility while upholding the spirit of a traditional prom. Cotton-Sheldon and Dolphay made the dance floor, which was raised two inches from the ground, accessible for teens in wheelchairs. They positioned the balloon arches high enough to avoid catching on an IV pole.

Cotton-Sheldon and Dolphay cited the circular windows and skylights around the garden as inspiration for the “cosmic dreams” theme. Adorned by the colorful decorations, the windows — designed to provide natural light to operating rooms — gave the impression of a space shuttle.

“We can’t replace what the patients are missing out on,” Cotton-Sheldon said. “But we can provide them with an opportunity to do something fun and different in a safe environment.”

Knowing it was unsafe for some patients to be in close proximity to others, the organizers made sure that each activity space was single-use and strategically coordinated.

At a traditional prom, a drop in temperature of a few degrees might lead parents to simply ask their children to wear a coat. For this prom, Cotton-Sheldon said, colder temperatures could pose medical danger and discomfort to many of the attendees, so an indoor alternative was essential.  

Cotton-Sheldon and Dolphay planned activities so that teens of all ages would enjoy them. The hospital also offered a range of activities for patients in different stages of illness and treatment. 

Patients who were too fatigued or unable to join the dance floor could make custom jewelry at a station sponsored by the jewelry brand Kendra Scott, make their own “cosmic dreams” slime or play the video game Beat Saber using virtual reality headsets.

“What joy and excitement look like might be a little different in a prom like this,” Cotton-Sheldon said. But for the patients, their families and staff at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, it was a night they’ll never forget.

Editor’s note: The author is a member of the women’s basketball team and participated in this year’s prom as a volunteer.

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