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'Super' window washers warm hearts at children's hospital

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s some of the coolest window washers to ever scale a building. Three window washers in Memphis, Tenn., recently dressed up as superheroes while they cleaned the windows of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.While they just pretended to be Captain America and a Spider-Man, they’re undoubtedly real-life heroes to the patients and staff at the hospital. “The kids
Dressed as Spiderman, a window washer with American National Skyline greets Le Bonheur Children's Hospital patient Orlando Farmer, 3, as he rappels do...
Dressed as Spiderman, a window washer with American National Skyline greets Le Bonheur Children's Hospital patient Orlando Farmer, 3, as he rappels down the outside of the building, in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday October 17, 2012, while cleaning the hospital's windows.Brandon Dill / Today

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s some of the coolest window washers to ever scale a building. Three window washers in Memphis, Tenn., recently dressed up as superheroes while they cleaned the windows of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

While they just pretended to be Captain America and a Spider-Man, they’re undoubtedly real-life heroes to the patients and staff at the hospital.

“The kids are normally tethered to their rooms at that time of day, waiting to meet with physicians, so this surprise was wonderful for them,” Thomas Hobson, Director of Child Life Services at the hospital, told TODAY Moms. “To have this distraction, to have this unexpected surprise visitor – the young kids’ eyes just lit up.” Hobson noted that it wasn’t just the young patients who loved the sight of those superheroes. The older, adolescent patients also thought it was pretty cool, as did the staff. “Staff members were taking pictures of the guys saying, ‘my nephew is never going to believe this,’” Hobson said.

“They are just the sweetest, kindest people,” Anne Glankler, a media relations specialist for Le Bonheur, told TODAY Moms about the window washers. “They are just shocked that it’s gotten the attention it has. They weren’t expecting anything like that. They just wanted to do something nice for the kids.”

The NY Daily News reports that Jordan Emerson and Danny Oszaniec from the window-washing company American National Skyline first thought of the idea to dress up as superheroes while they cleaned the hospital’s windows. They posed the idea to their boss, Steve Oszaniec, who not only gave the idea the green light, but also dressed up and joined them on this very special job.

See photos: Window washers as superheroes

"Every time we come down the building, the kids jump out of their beds and run to the windows, saying 'Are you guys Spider-Man?'" Emerson told the NY Daily News. And for one day, they actually were.

The guys made their rounds cleaning windows outside one morning while doctors made their rounds inside. Mornings at Le Bonheur are usually a time for the kids to meet with their doctors, which means they have to stay in their rooms, waiting for their doctor to come by. But, on this special day, a morning normally spent waiting was filled with fun and excitement.

These heroic window washers may have hung up their capes, but that doesn’t mean they’ll never appear in costume again. In fact, they’re already working with the hospital on another, special surprise visit. We’d love to tell you what it’s about, but that would ruin the surprise.

Window washers and superheroes may have more in common than most of us ever realized. Another group of window washers at Evelina Children’s Hospital in London have also traded in more traditional work uniforms for superhero costumes, delighting children across the pond, as Redbook reports.

Dana Macario is a Seattle-area mom who applauds these guys for the smiles they’ve put on so many faces.

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