Plainfield Children To Get Visit From The 'Quarantine Bunny'

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Easter bunny is wearing a hazmat suit. It's a sign of the times. It's a desire to find humor in a scary situation. It's pediatric nurse practitioner Josie Dawe, and she plans to visit children in Plainfield's Grande Park neighborhood this weekend, to give them back a bit of the Easter fun that the coronavirus crisis may have snatched away.

"Seeing all these kids not getting to see the Easter Bunny is kind of heartbreaking," said Dawe, who is a Grande Park resident. "So I was trying to think of a way to get them to see the Easter Bunny without spreading any germs. So... I put up a picture of me [in an Easter Bunny costume] in a hazmat suit with a face mask on, and said, 'would you like the quarantine bunny to come to your house?'"

Dawe said she got responses from parents in Grande Park almost immediately, enough that she now plans to visit some 40 houses in the area this Sunday. She'll leave the hazmat suit behind — that was more of a joke for parents, and Dawe is worried it could scare children — but dressed as the Easter bunny, she'll take photos with kids through their windows. She'll be outside, they'll pose for the photos inside.

Dawe said that she was hesitant to give the kids she takes photos with any Easter candy, especially considering her work in healthcare. She said she has not yet encountered any coronavirus patients in her work as a nurse, but that it's always better to err on the side of caution. That means no-touch photos only.

"I think I was just going to do the pictures for right now... I just worry about the germs," Dawe said. "I'm a healthcare worker myself, so I would hate for me, five days in, to be like 'hey, guess what.'"

While Dawe said she didn't have the capacity to visit many more houses than she already plans to, she told Patch that she hopes other Plainfield residents - especially those with access to bunny suits - will follow in her example. Even if they don't get candy, a photo with the Easter Bunny can be a morale boost for many of the youngest people currently being affected by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Those who wish to contact Dawe about coordinating a larger Quarantine Bunny effort in Plainfield can do so at (815) 326-2615.

"I'm just doing it to be nice to the neighbors and kids," Dawe said.

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