Hospital clowns in Denmark

“Can we come in?”.

Three small knocks sound before a red nose pokes its head in.

On the bed in the living room, 12-year-old Villads sits with tubes in his nose, playing games on his iPad. He nods and smiles. Together with his parents, he is waiting for his chemo.

Villads has a brain tumor that won't go away. He is allowed to stay at home, but is undergoing treatment until spring next year, alternating chemo once a week for three weeks and then chemo-free for four weeks.

The hospital clowns "Baglæns" and "Flaka" get out colored markers and start drawing on the window.

“What do you think it is?” they ask Villads about their abstract drawings.

“A peach? An angry man with a hat?”. Backwards pauses for a moment. “Or maybe two balls that have grown together?”.

The last one makes Villads laugh.

Hospital clowns are part of the treatment in Danish hospitals when they create joy and care for sick children through play and stories, according to a report.

Text by Clara Johanne Selsmark

Benjamin Krog