Blaze of glory for Kayden
CARTOON RHINO DRAWS HUGE PRAISE FROM HOSPITAL
MEET Blaze – the new mascot of the Great North Children’s Hospital.
The cartoon rhino was partly designed and named by former patients and joins existing giraffe mascot Fudge.
The character will draw attention to the hospital’s role in researching cures.
Julie Anderson, research and innovations manager said “The Great North Children’s Hospital’s mascot is our lovable Giraffe called Fudge.
“We thought it would be good to give him a friend who could promote research and, in keeping with our jungle theme, the concept of a Research Rhino was born. “Phil Woodsford, one of our fantastic research nurses, has a hidden talent for drawing and he kindly agreed to design our superhero rhino.
“We also asked our service users to get involved with the development of our new mascot and a competition was launched to design an outfit and name the rhino.”
Staff were delighted with the submissions and awarded a prize and certificate to Kayden Hussein from Sunderland for designing a striking outfit using bold stripes and stars.
Kayden, seven, was admitted to the Great North Children’s Hospital after developing a kidney condition last June.
He needed specialist treatment as his kidney function fell to just 30% and was in hospital for a week.
Mum Mandy said “Kayden had an infection in his throat and his eyes were all puffy, but it wasn’t until I noticed blood in his urine that I realised something was wrong.
“We went to the Sunderland Royal Infirmary and they transferred him straight to the Great North Children’s Hospital to the renal ward.
“Kayden’s blood pressure was too high he needed to be put on a special diet, but he didn’t need dialysis which was a relief.”
Kayden has now been discharged by consultants and enjoys playing football, hopscotch and swimming with his friends. The prize and certificate for naming the Rhino was awarded to three-yearold Chris Forster for his suggestion of Blaze.
Chris, from Stanley in County Durham has been a patient from being just two days old.
Mum Becky said: “The day after Chris was born I was waiting to take him home when he began to vomit.
“The staff in the hospital immediately knew something was wrong and he was rushed by ambulance to Newcastle for emergency bowel surgery.”
Chris had a condition called ilial atresia which meant that the lower part of his small intestine hadn’t developed properly. The surgery corrected the problem and he continues to be monitored. Chris visits the Great North Children’s Hospital for a check up every six months.
At his last visit the competition to name our research rhino was running and while playing Connect 4 he suggested ‘Blaze’.
Blaze has been launched to celebrate the annual International Clinical Trials Day. Each year, the event brings people together from all over the world to recognise the importance of clinical research and the impact it has on healthcare.