Mollypenny the hospital clown is retiring, leaving some big shoes to fill

The Current18:45How clowning around can help sick children

As her alter ego Mollypenny the clown, nurse Ruth Cull has spent two decades bringing joy to sick children at an Ottawa hospital, while helping them process what they’re going through.

“One little boy wanted to send his cancer to outer space,” said Cull, who is set to retire next month from her role at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

Doctors had performed tests on the boy, and were waiting for results to come back from the lab, she told The Current’s Matt Galloway. The child, perhaps believing the tests contained the cancer itself,