Clutching her gilded boarding pass in one hand and singing the refrain to "Frosty the Snowman," 4-year-old Jordan May bounded to the gate at Baltimore-Washington International Airport yesterday afternoon. Her destination: the North Pole.
For Jordan and 40 other children suffering from chronic illnesses, it was a flight to remember.
The Continental Airlines plane never actually got off the ground. But the flight attendants pulled down the shades and the pilot gunned the engine at the end of the runway to give the impression that the plane was taking off for the home of Santa Claus.
Yesterday was the first time that Continental Airlines brought its imaginary North Pole excursion to Maryland to brighten the holidays for children who will spend much of the season in the hospital. The airline has arranged similar trips elsewhere in the United States.
"This is exciting!" said 5-year-old William Streeter, with a wide grin. His kidney is collapsing, which often leaves him weak, and he has to be fed through a tube in his stomach. Throughout the ride, however, he felt just fine.
"My son is having a great time. He's never been on an airplane before," said his mother, Chantel Streeter of West Baltimore, who was enjoying her first plane ride as well.
Many of the children singing Christmas carols yesterday had been lying in bed at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center only hours earlier. Others were pale from chemotherapy or recent surgery.
All were veterans of the hospital world, from DeShawn Barnes, who, at the age of 2, already knows the word "platelets," to 8-year-old Krystal Weaver, who has cystic fibrosis and has been in and out of hospitals all of her life.
It seemed like a normal, crowded flight, except the airline attendants wore reindeer antlers and the children were too busy getting autographed baseball cards from former Orioles relief pitcher Kevin Hickey to become bored.
The plane then taxied to another gate, parents collected their coats, and Colleen and Julia Milligan sprinted down the boarding ramp.
Dozens of volunteers from Continental, Marriott and the Maryland Aviation Administration had transformed the waiting area into a festively decorated North Pole, complete with a petting zoo, a buffet, a bag of gifts and, of course, Santa.
Four-year-old Julia Milligan, who has a rare form of eye cancer, rushed over to hug the goat with her 16-month-old sister, Colleen. Neither of the girls from Calvert County wanted to meet Santa; they were much too fascinated by the animals from the Hodge Podge Petting Zoo.
For Jordan, the adventure was capped by sitting in Santa's lap. For her mother, Janice May, it was one of the first family outings since her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in September.
"It's hard," she said. "It completely changes your life. This is nice because we don't have that much time as a family anymore."