Our friends and business partner Emma & Ivan's son Seth has been spending a huge amount of time on the PIAM Brown Ward, at Southampton General Hospital. Listening to Emma's first hand accounts of what life is like on the ward, we felt the need to raise funds to help enrich the Children's experiences on the ward further.
On 31st March one of Seth's friends Niamh and I will be having our long hair cut off. Our hair will be donated to The Little Princess Trust and funds to PIAM Brown Ward. Wish us luck!

Here's what Emma has to say on PIAM Ward,

Since Seth was diagnosed with Lymphoma in January he has spent over 50 days in hospital. The majority of these have been on the PIAM Brown Ward in Southampton General. PIAM Brown ward is the Regional Paediatric Oncology and Haematology Unit for Wessex. Children come from as far afield as Brighton, Chichester, Portsmouth, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight, Dorchester, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Poole, Southampton, Eastleigh and Fareham. They cater for children from only one day to 16 years old, so demand on resources is huge - per year, the unit sees approximately 100 new families. Money raised through fundraising is invaluable in helping to improve the experience of patients and parents during the time they spend on the ward by making it the 'happiest sad place’. Seth and I have found all of the resources that are provided by fundraising invaluable in our time on PIAM Brown. This has included:

TVs Xboxs and Ipads for the children to use to help pass the time as they are having chemo.

Resources for the playroom and school room so that the Children can leave their beds and play / learn when they feel well enough.

A sitting room and kitchen for parents to relax in and cook meals in when they are living in the hospital.

Pull out beds so that parents can get a good nights sleep when spending weeks on end on the ward.

Tempting snacks for the children when they need persuading to eat.

Emma