Photos by: Brittany Boudreau
WATCH magicians at work in this video clip.
Magicana has been delivering My Magic Hands to clients at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital since 2004. And, as the program’s lead instructor, it has been one of the most rewarding personal experiences I have encountered in my career as a magician.
For most recent round of My Magic Hands at Holland Bloorview (held during May and June), clients participated inside of our partnership with the Luminato Festival’s Outreach and Education program. Clients from a wide range of ages from five to sixteen, were challenged to learn how to perform magic over the course of four weeks in preparation for A Big Show, which was held during the Luminato Festival. As always, the show was spectacular but what is even more rewarding was watching clients flourish over the course of the program. Clients pushed past barriers, often surprising themselves at how much they could do. It was also very gratifying to hear how our magic program gave clients a new perspective:
“It has been great watching our daughter over the last couple of weeks practicing all of the tricks which has bolstered her fine motor skills. She realizes that if she makes the effort on a daily basis to use both hands she will continue to see improvement on her left side. To us as parents this is invaluable.”
— M & A Cairns
This program, however, relies on other kinds of magicians – the occupational therapists, speech therapists and dedicated volunteers at Holland Bloorview. Without this level of support, where clients are encouraged to bring their magic to speech and therapy sessions – and where they are given such incredible encouragement and coaching by volunteers – the program could not flourish. But as a team, it’s clear there is real magic at work and we congratulate all our new gradutes of My Magic Hands.
Julie Eng
See My Magic Hands in action!
During the program, we were visited by CBC who broadcasted this clip on The National.
For more information about our program visit: www.mymagichands.com
magicana: sharing wonder 
2 Responses to “Magical Medicine”