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This high school student makes Disney-themed costumes for NICU babies

Credit: Orlando Health

If you have teenagers, you may spend a lot of your time wondering what exactly they do with all of their time.

From extracurricular activities at school to sports and competitions to Instagram and TikTok to binge-watching their favorite series on Netflix or Disney+ (of course), many teenagers seem to have more to fill their days with than there are hours in the day.

But for one teenager living in Orlando, Florida, time is very important because she uses it to enrich the lives of those who came into this world sooner than expected–some of the most vulnerable of us all: babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.

Credit: Orlando Health

Rachel Maretsky is a junior in high school, and this year marks the fifth year in a row that she has given of her time and her talents to create superhero capes for tiny newborns in the unit.

Credit: Orlando Health

“The patient families and staff are delighted with this festive tradition each year and hope Rachel will continue with another donation to finish out her senior year in 2022,” a hospital official said in a recent news release.

Credit: Orlando Health

Rachel makes tiny superhero capes featuring 5 different animated superhero favorites, one type of which is inspired by Disney’s The Incredibles.

 

A representative for the hospital unit says that Rachel’s selfless work takes quite a bit of time, but that it’s a “labor of love.”

Because of protocols related to stopping the spread of COVID-19, Rachel has only been able to drop off the tiny Halloween costumes at the front desk of the hospital, after which members of the hospital team pass out the costumes to the families of newborns in the NICU.

Credit: Orlando Health

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Now that’s magical!

Have you ever been the recipient of a gift from someone who loves Disney and loves giving?

About Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!