"The AZ Insider" with Kathy Shayna Shocket: Get the inside scoop on Arizona's social scene and celebrity news.

The birth of Banner’s Cardon Children’s Medical Center is a fairytale of sorts. Because you see...Once upon a time there was a group of generous people who donated lots of money to build a castle in Mesa, Arizona for sick children.

And because of these prince charmings and snow whites.. a children’s hospital in the enchanted East Valley desert is a dream come true.

The goal of raising $15 million was exceeded and $24 million was raised in 2 1/2 years. An unprecedented $10 million dollars worth of fairy dust was donated by the Cardon family of Mesa- for which the hospital is named.

This weekend, Disney star Moises Arias joined 3,000 people for its first public open house.

And like little elves in this happy fairy tale – hundreds of children who came to the open house slipped on mini- hospital garb and turned their teddy bears into “patients” in the teddy bear health clinic.

And it was a dream come true for one young patient in the oncology unit of Cardon (at the children’s hospital’s temporary home until Nov. 2.) Prior to being in the hospital, this huge Miley Cyrus fan had been counting the days until the Miley concert in Sept. in Glendale, Arizona. But at the last minute got sick and had to check into the hospital. So imagine this fan’s surprise when Disney star Moises Arias (who stars with Miley in the Hannah Montana show) turned up at her bedside at Cardon Children's Medical Center on Sunday!

Maricopa Medical Center’s Miracles Celebrated

It was an impressive turnout for Saturday night’s Copa Ball. Amidst the dancing, and entertainment, the gala captured the most important reason for the gala - the Maricopa Integrated Health System. Its Maricopa Medical Center is a premier training center for the nation's physicians and its Arizona Burn Center is world renown.

Kudos to Dr. Daniel Caruso, head of the Burn Center, (pictured here with his wife Diane) who recently received the Jason Schechterle Lifetime Achievement Award, at an event in Sept. to benefit the scholarships for the 100 Club of Arizona - a nonprofit group that helps public safety personnel and their families.

And emotion filled the ballroom of the Westin Kierland when Christian and Stephanie Nielson took to the podium. The Nielsons sustained severe burns when their Cessna 177 crashed last summer in St. Johns, Arizona after takeoff. The couple thanked the lifesavers at the Burn Center for their healing hearts and expertise.

I had a chance to tour the medical center a couple of times to witness the miracles of its care – including the Saturday I tagged along with these ambassadors –Kim Corrigan and Dozer.

I snapped some pics of the volunteer duo in the waiting area of the emergency room. The golden retriever is one of the center’s Copa Canine Connections’ pet therapy dogs. Kim and Dozer visit patients including the pediatric unit. Their contribution is positively infectious.

Kathy Shayna Shocket is a Phoenix based writer. If you have a good item for The AZ Insider, you can email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .