Hospital appeal brings joy
A Southland child is one of the many children the Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal is helping.
Thomas Walker, a regular at Southland Hospital children’s ward, has a primary immune disorder and requires monthly visits to the children’s ward for IV immunoglobulin transfusions, paediatric visits and outpatient appointments.
The Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal helped raise money for wish lists of all children’s hospitals in New Zealand.
Thomas’ parents Jeff and Leanne said the funding raised by the appeal had helped him to get the support that he needed and raise money for medical equipment.
Past funding had assisted in creating a child-friendly environment on the ward and has helped purchase specialised equipment enabling staff to provide quality health care to Thomas and other children when they need it.
Marking its 13th year, Southern DHB clinical nurse manager paediatrics Marie Irvine said the money raised by the appeal would help to make patients and their families stay at hospital more comfortable.
‘‘What we’re provided with in terms of health dollar often goes to the replacement of existing equipment and this gives us the ability to buy or get new equipment that we potentially would not be able to fund’’, Irvine said.
On the hospital wish list this year were oximeters [a machine which reads how much oxygen is in a childs blood], posture garments to support children, particularly with cerebral palsy, and a new sun shade for the playground, Irvine said.
People could get behind the appeal by donating at Countdown, buying a raffle ticket or supporting the fundraising activities such as bake sales.
The appeal this year will run from August 5 to October 27.
So far more than $763,829 has been raised for the Southland Hospital children’s ward since the initiative first started.
This year the appeal aimed to raise more than $1.1 million.