Child with compromised immune system gets surprise birthday party from a physical distance

MENLO PARK, Calif. - Joey Carcione turned 13 Thursday. Social distancing, or at least from a physical standpoint, is especially critical for him right now because he has a kidney disease and his immune system is compromised.

But his family figured that wouldn't stop them from throwing a surprise birthday bash.

They invited his buddies to drive by their house in Menlo Park with their parents a few times.

"It felt good because I liked seeing them come out just to see me. It felt nice," Joey said.

"I couldn't hve a normal party. I thought this was the best thing we could do," said his mother JoAnn Carcione.

But while Joey was the main attraction, the party also meant a lot to the friends. They all go to school together and haven't seen each other in weeks. And the news on TV hasn't exactly been positive.

"It was a way to see people. Make it seem like it wasn't as bad as it seems, because all it shows is death and destruction. And here there's a birthday going on," said classmate Cash Weston.

For more than a month child psychologists have weighed in on how children are perceiving this pandemic. We thought we'd asked some of the boys themselves how they are seeing all this.

"It's pretty weird we can't leave our house and everything is shut down. Only a couple of people go to work. It"s different," said Joey.

"It gets kind of boring. And there is really nothing to do. I just have to stay occupied with going outside and talking to my friends on Zoom," said classmate Brett Frauenhofer.

"I miss going to school and seeing my friends. I miss sports," said cash.

But besides the party, they are all somehow finding a bright side.   

"I see my family a lot and that's good. Because sometimes we are not in the house together. We definitely talk to each other more," said Joey.

Past generations have had defining moments. Perhaps the 9-11 attacks, or the Kennedy assassination. For the children of today, it's likely this period in time will be one of those moments.

"It's a very unique time. But we'll get through it. It's not the end of the world. We'll get through it," said Cash.