Nurses Sing ‘The Hokey Pokey’ To Lift Spirits Of 3-Year-Old Patient

Three-year-old Madison Austin fell in love with the Hokey Pokey dance since the day she first heard it from her mom’s iPad.

Madison’s mom, Krista Austin, told TODAY Parents, “Ever since she watched the Hokey Pokey video, she was hooked on it and watched it multiple times.” “After all that Madison has been through in her life, she is the happiest, funniest, spunkiest, most polite child ever,” Austin continued.

Credit: Krista Austin via TODAY; Madison on the left

Madison was born with Neuronal Migration Disorder, a rare birth defect that affects brain and muscle development and she breathes with the help of a tracheostomy tube. She was admitted to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, in early February after her oxygen levels dropped and she began having seizures.

Madison was then diagnosed with the flu, rhinovirus and three different infections and she’s been hospitalized ever since. “The doctors advised that it could take up to a month for her lungs to get back to normal,” said Austin.

The day Austin showed her daughter the Hokey Pokey video, her eyes lit up and it was clear she enjoyed the song and dance. Madison then shared her love for the Hokey Pokey with her nurses and asked for them to come to her hospital room for a “Hokey Pokey party.”

Natalie Serra, a nurse at St. John’s Hospital was happy to organize the party and she recruited nurses and therapists to perform the song for Madison. The hospital posted the video on their Facebook and it has since made a lot of people smile. The video shows Madison clapping her hands and singing as hospital staff dance around her.

Credit: Facebook- HSHS St. John’s Hospital/Facebook

According to TODAY, Serra said that she and her fellow hospital staff have all connected deeply with Madison over her years as a patient. “She’s been pretty sick this stay,” said Serra. “So it’s been really nice to see her kind of turn a corner. She lit up just being on the bed, bouncing and smiling.”