Childhood Cancer - Holidays
Unicorns, Dinosaurs & Me – with Nikki Knight
During our journey, we have been fortunate enough to receive help and support from a number of childhood cancer charities. Quite a few of these I had never heard of until we needed them but I will be forever grateful for all they have done for us. Here are the childhood cancer charities that have helped and supported us.
Please do keep in mind that we live in Gloucestershire so some of the charities we have been supported by only serve local families, to find charities local to you, get in touch with your shared care hospital who will be able to point you in the right direction. For more information about holidays and other resources please click here.
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Molly Olly’s Wishes is a charity formed by the parents of an 8-year-old girl called Molly Ollerenshaw who battled cancer for much of her life. Molly Olly’s Wishes aims to help children with life-threatening illnesses and their families by providing therapeutic toys and books to help children to understand the procedures and side effects of treatment. Olly The Brave is a cuddly lion who has a removable mane and a Hickman line, referred to as wigglys and a series of accompanying books. The Dinosaur was given an Olly The Brave and three books: Olly The Brave and The Wigglys, Olly Being Brave and Chemotherapy & Olly The Brave for Brothers and Sisters – Ben’s Big Stuff. The toy and the books have helped the Dinosaur to understand what is happening to him, why he sometimes has wigglys and why his hair is falling out. The books have also helped the Unicorn to understand why all these things are happening to her brother and that all the feelings she has are normal and are ok.
Molly Olly’s Wishes also grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses such as bedroom makeovers, garden makeovers, equipment to make life easier or toys and games to entertain children during treatment and hospital stays. The Dinosaur was granted a wish by Molly Olly’s and received a Nintendo Switch, a carry case and two Paw Patrol games. This is one of his favourite things to request from the play therapists when he is in the hospital and it also means that he can play with his family when he is at home as well. This article from Boo, Roo and Tigger Too has some excellent educational Nintendo games to help keep that mum guilt at bay.
Young Lives Vs Cancer (Formally CLIC Sargent) One of the childhood cancer charities that has provided a huge amount of support to us is Young Lives Vs Cancer. They have provided support right from the word go and will continue to provide support throughout treatment and beyond. When we were still in the initial 2-weeks of treatment we were introduced to Janet who is a Young Lives vs Cancer Social Worker. She gave us huge amounts of information about everything non-medical such as benefits and Blue Badge advice, grants that we were entitled to, other charities that may be able to help us and other places we could gain support. We were also given a £100 grant from them to help with some of the initial costs associated with a childhood cancer diagnosis (read more about the costs of cancer here).
Dexter’s Odyssey work alongside the Bristol Young Lives vs Cancer Social Worker to give a small gift to parents when their child is diagnosed with cancer. When Janet came to see us she brought with her a Braun digital thermometer and probe covers, £20 of vouchers for a cafe across the road from the hospital and a £40 One For All gift card, all of these were supplied by Dexter’s Odyssey.
Wiggly T is a Gloucestershire-based charity that was set up by a fellow cancer mum to help her child with the trauma of having their port (a type of central line) accessed. They aim to give one custom-made, easy-access top to every child with a central line. The child can choose whether they have long or short sleeves, what colours they have and what kind of pattern they want on their top. They make tops that unclip at the top, all the way down the side or babygrows for infants. The Dinosaur chose a short-sleeved top in blue with a dinosaur pattern.
The Pied Piper Appeal supports Gloucestershire hospitals and has provided things like nice curtains and Dyson fans for the children’s wards to make them more comfortable and less clinical. They also provide toys to the hospital which can be used by the play therapists to help the children who are receiving treatment and can also be used as gifts for bravery when the child has had a particularly distressing procedure.
When he finished his treatment the first time, Pied Piper arranged a wish holiday for us to head to Disneyland Paris for 4 days during the May half term. The package included flights, accommodation, a half-board meal plan, park entry tickets and private transfers between the hotel and the airport.