Medic dons clown costume to treat Israeli boy hit by bus
BNEI BRAK, Israel (AFP) — A clown at a traffic accident site might seem out of place, but for one injured Israeli boy it was exactly what he needed.
The five-year-old was hit by a minibus on Thursday, leaving him with a broken hand.
Medics arrived on the scene quickly but the child was hysterical and they couldn’t get near enough to treat him.
That’s when motorcycle paramedic Daniel Klughaupt, 38, had an idea.
Klughaupt, who is also a clown, ran to his bike and pulled out his hat, red nose and balloons.
“The kid was freaking out, which is understandable,” the Israeli-American told AFP.
“He is not going to let you touch him — he doesn’t know who you are and his hand hurts.”
“So I get out my clown hat and red nose and balloons and stickers.”
The child immediately warmed to the clown costume, talking and playing with Klughaupt until the other medic could bandage the broken wrist.
“I was pretending I didn’t know what an arm was, pointing to his nose or knee,” Klughaupt said.
“He was so into the game that he didn’t even notice the other medic was bandaging his arm.”
The incident took place in Bnei Brak in central Israel.
But Klughaupt, who volunteers for the United Hatzalah medical service, said he likes to incorporate jokes into his medical treatment.
“It is a cliche, but laughter really is the best medicine,” he said.
Nearly two decades after the Robin Williams film “Patch Adams” told the real-life story of a medical student who battled convention to treat his patients using laughter, clown therapy is popular in Israeli hospitals.
Israeli clowns travelled to Nepal last year in the wake of the country’s devastating earthquake.
