It looks almost like a miniature parade following the path that circles the rooftop garden. Pulling a red wagon is physical therapist Chad Doerneman in his bright blue scrubs. Behind the wagon, dressed in wine, is respiratory therapist Katie Stehlik. She carefully navigates a wheeled ventilator and oxygen tank. And inside the wagon is 3-year-old Genesis Sanchez-Vasquez, wearing a flowered dress and black and hot pink sunglasses.

These walks have become a ritual for Genesis’ care team. Getting her and her life-saving equipment organized takes longer than the walk itself. But it’s worth it for everyone involved.

“We have to make sure her vent settings are OK while we walk her, to make sure she’s not breathing too fast,” explains Stehlik. “Her oxygen levels are doing great. Her heart rate does really well.”

Genesis, who received a liver, small bowel and pancreas transplant in February, has spent the majority of her life inside hospitals. She relies on her ventilator and a feeding tube. Her team recently started taking her on walks to help build her strength and to show her what the world looks like outside her room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

“You can see in her face that she loves exploring new things—we showed her flowers today,” says Stehlik. “But there was a bug, so she didn’t want anything to do with it! She’s been inside in the air conditioning for so long – it’s great to see her get just a little sweat from the sunshine.”

Because of her complex medical history, Genesis isn’t talking yet. But she can tell when it’s time for a walk.

“She kind of knows now when we put her black and pink Puma shoes on, we’re getting ready to go outside,” says Doerneman. “She starts clapping, and she gets excited.”

The team finds time to walk with Genesis a couple of times a week. She always wears her prettiest clothes, with her hair woven into pigtails that swing behind her as she pushes a tiny shopping cart – a few tentative steps at a time. After she's practiced walking, she settles into the wagon to just enjoy a ride.

“It’s not something we get to do with a lot of our patients because they’re often too unstable to go outside,” says Stehlik.  “And we don’t get many people who are on the vent so long in our hospital, so it’s really rewarding to see. And to see how much she’s progressed since we first started.”

Stehlik loves that every day in her job is different.

“I’ve been a therapist for nine years now, and I get to work in all kinds of areas. I work with adults. I work with pediatrics. I work with babies – it’s always something new,” she explains. “The variety is very nice. You get to see a lot of different faces and really use your critical thinking skills.”

And the days she spends with Genesis, Stehlik knows she’s making a difference. The respiratory therapy team is starting trials to slowly get her off her ventilator. The strength Genesis gains from those walks is helping.

“It’s very exciting and rewarding, and it makes you feel good,” Stehlik explains. “We are improving her daily living.”

Doerneman adds, “I think it’s so important to get her outside and make her day, and in turn, it makes my day.”