Hans Gilsdorf

The birth of his first daughter is where we will start this Inspiring Americans story. Kendra was born in 1997 arrived 5½ weeks premature with a heart condition and an emergency C section. She was in heart failure and the procedure was successful. There was little hope of her making it. Three and a half weeks in the NICU the team of doctors and nurses did everything correctly as well as Kendra, and she was released with a 24 hour monitoring of her heart.

In 1999 Hans and his wife, Mary Beth moved to Detroit Lakes and had their second daughter, Megan. With that delivery, Mary Beth had heart complications and they had to paddle her back to reality. Fun times, this thing called child birth. Between their complications with their first daughter Kendra and the additional experience with Megan's birth, Hans was inspired to quit all of the art he usually did and focus on doing art that would become a distraction program for kids, their families, and staff in a medical setting. In 2000 he started working on a series of characters, a story, a look that would brighten up a child's imagination. From this came, Alfunz, the official architect of anything. He wrote a book and started illustrations. In 2001 he was asked to do a proposal for Merit Cares Southwest Pediatric Clinic for a playroom. Eventually that ended up being the entire 4th floor at the hospital including the Children’s Hospital, NICU and main lobby for the 4th floor as well as the clinic.

Hans resume is incredibly impressive and long with his many works on public display not only in Minnesota but many out of state as well. Listen to this... He has many completed works at Essentia St. Mary's in DL with their new pediatric physical therapy gym but is currently working on Medcenter One's Amber's Dream Project where he has designed their playroom, sculpted their mascot Meddy in larger than life forms for the lobby and nurse station, threenurse stations, and main nurse station being a pirate ship with interactive cannon doors and porthole games for the little patients all scheduled to be completed in December!

Kendra has been a huge inspiration for him and a big help with is projects. Megan has had her fair share as well, helping Hans with designs, giving insight and both have helped him in giving a child's perspective and the drive to help those kids who are in a medical setting. Hans has been a huge inspiration to countless with his creative work that can make a child feel less scared about being at a hospital when it is a magical world for them to explore and have fun with.

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