The Charities
The charities that have helped us since day one. We have had amazing support and without them we would have found this all a lot harder.
The Grand appeal
The Grand Appeal is the Bristol Children's Hospital charity. This is the hospital that have cared for Keira. Covering the single largest geographic area of any children's hospital in England, many of the brave young patients they support often have to travel hundreds of miles - from Cornwall, Devon, South Wales and Wiltshire - for the specialist treatment they need.
As the Bristol Children's Hospital charity they strive to put the hospital at the centre of change - creating pioneering facilities and ensuring the hospital remains at the forefront of children's healthcare, saving lives into the next decade and beyond. They do this by working in partnership with the range of specialisms Bristol Children's Hospital is home to.
These are cardiac surgery, children's cancer unit, emergency department, general surgery, major trauma centre, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), neurosurgery, paediatric intensive care unit and palliative care and bereavement support.
Clic Sargent
Clic Sargent help in 6 ways.
When the doctor says cancer
“It’s like you’re in a bubble and you’re screaming but no one hears.” Those first days, weeks and months after a cancer diagnosis are overwhelming, when young cancer patients are confused, scared and anxious. From the moment of diagnosis, we’re there and ready to help families cope. Our care teams provide day-to-day support for each child, young person and family, from information and guidance to clinical care and specialist play during treatment.
Cancer costs
As if a cancer diagnosis isn’t tough enough, the financial impact of cancer can be devastating. Our research shows parents spend an average of £600 more every month when their child has cancer. Lots of travel for treatment, hotels, extra heating costs at home. It soon adds up, causing further anxiety and worry.
CLIC Sargent care teams work with young people and families to help them get vital financial support. We arrange CLIC Sargent grants and help them get the benefits and other support they’re entitled to. We also help liaise with young people’s employers and sort out housing issues to keep families together, because day-to-day life doesn’t stop when you have cancer.
There’s no place like home
Treatment is exhausting and often happens for months at a time, far away from home. Travelling for treatment not only adds to the exhaustion; it’s expensive too. We help to reduce that burden. Our nursing teams can provide personal care and support at home, or arrange for treatment to be given closer to home. We also have CLIC Sargent Homes from Home close to hospitals, where families can stay during treatment for free. These reduce the financial cost and emotional impact of cancer, keeping families together when it matters most.
We help them thrive, not just survive
Cancer shatters young cancer patients’ education, social lives and future prospects. They need support not just to survive cancer but to finish treatment with their future in their grasp. We help them get their lives back on track, both during and after treatment.
Our team of professionals work with children and young people to limit the damage of cancer. We support young cancer patients emotionally – building their resilience so they can continue to learn, regain their confidence and be inspired to think beyond cancer. We work with schools on a child or young person’s behalf, helping them keep in touch with friends, organising work at home so they don’t fall behind and helping schools prepare for when a child goes back to school.
When a child dies
Hearing your child isn’t going to get better is every parent’s worst nightmare. We help young cancer patients and families prepare for death, if the unthinkable happens. We encourage them to think about how the child or young person can be remembered and help them deal with their worries. Our care teams provide bereavement support through home visits, local support groups and memory days. We do this to help children, young people and their families find a way to cope with the emotional pain.
Making change happen
Too often, young cancer patients and their families don’t get the support they need from the government. We listen to them, basing our research and campaigning on what they tell us to ensure we make the right change happen. And then we fight on their behalf. We do this through extensive research and by campaigning for policy change in the things which matter most to them. We raise awareness of children and young people’s experiences and champion their voices to politicians and decision makers across the UK.
Beads of Courage UK
Beads of courage inspired the original idea for mile by mile 4 Keira. Keira has earn 7 full string of beads from the program and she is still earning the. Showing how brave and courageous she continues to be.
"We were able to see repeatedly just how much of a positive impact the programme had on the mental health and wellbeing of patients who were taking part in the Beads of Courage programme. It shifted the focus from treatment to beads. It gave children a non-scary, tangible means to communicate with their peers about what it is they have been through and continue to go through, and it opened up lines of communication and broke down barriers of illness through lack of knowledge."
Rainbow Trust
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity supports families who have a child aged 0-18 years with a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Why?
There are an estimated 86,625 children in England with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. This number has trebled over the last 17 years and is rising. Thousands of families have to face the very real possibility that their child may die and struggle to cope on a day to day basis. Our Family Support Workers provide a lifeline to these families and children.
How?
When a child has a serious illness, family life is turned upside down and time becomes more precious than ever. Rainbow Trust pairs each family with an expert Family Support Worker who enables them to make the most of time together, giving them practical and emotional support, whenever they need it, for as long as is needed.
We support the whole family including parents, carers, the unwell child, brothers, sisters and grandparents. Support is hugely varied and depends on the needs of the family. It can include:
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listening to a family’s fears and anxieties
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helping to explain illnesses, diagnoses and treatments
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keeping a seriously ill child company during hospital stays
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driving families to medical appointments to help save time and money
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organising fun activities to help sick children, their brothers and sisters
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support through bereavement and grief.
Children's Hospice South West
For more than 25 years Children's Hospice South West has been caring for children with life-threatening conditions by providing children's hospice and professional family support services. We are dedicated to making the most of short and precious lives through the provision of the best possible hospice care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions. The care offered at each of our three hospices is not just about medical and nursing support for sick children but enriching lives of the children and their whole family.
We provide care and support to families living in the South West, who have children with life-limiting conditions. We provide specialist palliative care, respite for the whole family, a sibling service for brothers and sisters, emergency support, end of life care and a bereavement service for as long as is needed. We welcome referrals from anyone.
Macmillan Cancer Support
Being told ‘you have cancer’ can affect so much more than your health – it can also affect your family, your job, even your ability to pay the bills. But you’re still you. We get that. And, after over 100 years of helping people through cancer, we get what’s most important: that you’re treated as a person, not just a patient.
It’s why we’ll take the time to understand you and all that matters to you, so we can help you get the support you need to take care of your health, protect your personal relationships and deal with money and work worries.
We’re here to help you find your best way through from the moment of diagnosis, so you’re able to live life as fully as you can.