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Hyundai brings Family Circle Cup athletes for pit stop at Children’s Hospital  MUSC Children’s Hospital patients got to mingle with some of the world’s top tennis stars as they imprinted their painted hands on a canvass as part of Hyundai’s nationwide Hope on Wheels to raise awareness of cancer in children. Tennis players competing in this week’s Family Circle Cup visited with the children, which also included a visit to a bed-ridden child who could not participate in the hand-painting in the hospital’s Atrium. The hand-printed canvass will be displayed at participating dealerships.   Family Circle Cup tennis stars (top from left) Patty Schnyder, Nicole Vaidisova and Corina Morariu visit the Children’s Hospital April 9 to help children hand-paint a canvas in the Atrium. The tennis stars, competing in this week’s top tier women’s tennis tournament on Daniel Island, show their painted hands with Tyshedia Briggs of Andrews. MUSC, also a key sponsor of the Family Circle Cup, is providing medical care to athletes through Dr. David Geier, director of MUSC Sports Medicine, and first aid to attendees through MUSC’s emergency department, as well as emergency services through Meducare. The players visiting the children were Nicole Vaidisova, the tournament’s top seed; Patty Schnyder, also a top-10 competitor and Charleston favorite; and Corina Morariu, a top-ranked doubles player who also survived and overcame a rare form of leukemia during her professional career.   “I know how good it feels to be in the hospital and have company,” said Morariu. “It gives us great satisfaction to bring smiles to the children’s faces. …As a professional athlete, I understand how difficult it is to endure cancer. I cannot imagine what it must be like for these little children.”   Vaidisova watches Seth Moore of Myrtle Beach leave his imprint on the canvas. Vaidisova called the children “courageous,” adding, “I see these kids and their great spirits. It’s not just having a great forehand or backhand, the sorts of things we worry about, but for these children, it takes so much to make it through the day.”   Schnyder, who is competing in the Family Circle Cup for the 11th year, said that she enjoys visiting with children wherever she plays. “We like to come to the hospital, because it gives us great satisfaction to visit with these children, and it helps us, too. We cannot imagine being in the hospital for such a long time. We like to bring smiles to their faces.”   Hope on Wheels brings the personal triumphs, big and small, of each patient to other children across the country, because the company also believes that one child’s milestone can be another’s symbol of hope. As part of its commitment, Hyundai is donating $10,000 to the Children’s Hospital’s unique aquatic Seewall project. For more information, visit http://www.hyundaihopeonwheels.com.     Friday, April 13, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.