THE WORLD OF THE YOUNG SUPERHEROES ™
Darrell Dolores Memorial Hospital is magic. Although Young Superheroes is a fully functioning medical facility, with all the equipment and staff it needs to take care of its children, not everything is as it seems. If you walk through its halls, you wouldn’t know that behind each door is a superhero.
The hospital is a home for the Young Superheroes, a place for the children to learn about their powers and to help them develop. Although the majority of the staff is unaware of the magic that’s hidden all over Young Superheroes, some of the doctors and nurses are former superheroes themselves and help the kids while they are in the hospital.
Young Superheroes appears to be normal on the outside, but from the inside you might look out one window and see San Francisco, and see a completely place out of another window. Some heroes can use its magic to connect to other worlds, even! Inside you can find super schools, magical x-ray and MRI machines, and there are rumored to be secret passageways all over the place – although they only show themselves at just the right time.
The Young Superheroes in the hospital come from all over, and take their superpowers with them wherever they go. Whether they show up in an ambulance, by helicopter, or in crutches, they leave with the knowledge of their superpowers, and keep memories of their time in Young Superheroes their entire lives.
Giggles
Giggles is 5 years old and has leukemia, which means she has cancer in her blood. Some of her blood cells make too many copies of themselves, leading to small tumors in her veins – and these tumors go all over her body.
Giggles gets a very strong form of medicine known as chemotherapy, a treatment that kills cancer cells; the treatment is so strong that it can give her other problems, but she takes all of it with a smile.
Noelle.
Noelle is 10 years old and has brain cancer, which is more common in young people than adults. She deals with pain and forgetfulness, and has other issues that will bring her to the hospital. When she’s there she receives treatments for her condition like surgery or a strong medicine known as chemotherapy; the doctors will even fight the cancer with a knife made out of radioactive rays.
Our supervillains are also important, because they allow us to take complex issues and give them a face. In addition to battling their specific afflictions, our heroes fight stigma, misunderstanding, and other issues. These may not be easy for a young patient to conceptualize, but give a name and a mask to a problem and you have a bad guy for our Young Superheroes to foil.
Darnell
Darnell is 12 years old and is slowly losing his sight. Darnell has what is known as sickle cell disease. His condition means that some of his blood cells have a different shape than normal – the shape of a half moon, instead of a circle – and because of their shape these cells can have a hard time travelling through his body, especially in his eyes. When he is having a bad time with his disease he goes to the hospital, and they give him medicine to ease any pain in his body and to help his blood cells stay in a circular shape.
Xaniya
Xaniya is 6 years old and suffers from asthma, a condition all too common in today’s world. She needs to come to the doctor to make sure her lungs are working the best they can, and always has an inhaler with her in case she needs it.
Not only are our characters larger than life, but the hospital in our world is full of magic. We have talking x-ray machines, ticklish whiteboards, and an IV pole that teaches the patients to dance. Our doctors are former superheroes. A child in a pediatric ward may feel overwhelmed and isolated – seeing the world through our lens will show them they’re not alone, and help them understand what they’re going through.
Eric
Eric is an 11 year old with a prosthetic leg. He had a cancer growth in his thigh when he was younger, and had to have his leg amputated below the knee so that things didn’t get worse. He comes into the hospital often to take care of his artificial limb, but is always hurting himself falling while skateboarding – he comes in with scrapes and other problems a lot. Eric is a dedicated skateboarder..
We aim to put our Young Superheroes out into the world in a number of mediums, and to target several age groups. Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of young patients and make them feel powerful – that’s why our Young Superheroes pediatric garments come with capes. Our patients, and everyone that comes in touch with them, will understand that they have these powers – for the rest of their lives.
Yaza
Yaza is 10 years old, and comes into the hospital often to work with doctors and therapists to maximize the potential of her equipment. She will always need a wheelchair to get around because of a serious car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Our supervillains are also important, because they allow us to take complex issues and give them a face. In addition to battling their specific afflictions, our heroes fight stigma, misunderstanding, and other issues. These may not be easy for a young patient to conceptualize, but give a name and a mask to a problem and you have a bad guy for our Young Superheroes to foil.
Kaihalo
Kaihalo is 14 years old, although he looks older. Kaihalo has a heart that is enlarged, one that got too big to work correctly. He often feels tired in his normal daily life. But when he is in the hospital, the team makes sure he gets the right treatment to make him feel better. One day, Kaihalo might even have a heart from someone else put into his body to replace his own.