Using Beads Of Courage To Support Patients

Thanks to generous donations, we were able to support an initiative called ‘Beads of Courage’ on our cardiac wards to help our children ‘record’, ‘tell’ and ‘own’ their own stories of courage.

The beads are intended to help patients navigate daily treatments, surgeries and achievements and provide ‘hope’ for any challenges they may encounter along the way, and are also used in other areas of our hospital such as our oncology ward.

The ‘Beads of Courage’ initiative cost an initial £8,000 to set up, which included thousands of different beads, threads, keep-sake bags and tracker cards, but ongoing funds are required to replenish stocks to make sure there are always beads to acknowledge our patients’ journeys.

One of the children who benefitted was long-term cardiac patient, 16-month-old Reuben, whose family is from Wales. He had been an inpatient since he was two weeks old, when he was transferred to our hospital for specialist care.

Reuben was born with a complex combination of heart defects including Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA), a condition where the positions of the aorta and pulmonary artery are reversed, meaning the heart cannot pump as much oxygen rich blood around the body as it should. On top of that, Reuben also had multiple Ventricular Septal Defects (VSDs), or holes, in his heart and another condition which affects its rhythm.

The day after Reuben arrived at our hospital he underwent his first major open-heart surgery, to switch his aorta and pulmonary artery around into their correct positions. Reuben then spent three long months on our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) before being transferred to the ward to continue his care.

Reuben had multiple surgeries, including one to fit a pacemaker to help regulate the rhythm of his heart, and for each one, as well as other procedures and treatments, Reuben received a special bead to add to his collection.

As well as medical milestones, Beads of Courage are also given to mark personal accomplishments and special moments for newborns, such as the first time parents were first able to hold, feed or bath their baby.

Mum, Kirsty, commented: “Beads of Courage is a lovely idea and it came to mean so much to us as we adjusted to life in hospital. When we looked at all of Reuben’s beads, we could physically see how much he’s been through and how strong our baby boy was, even on the hardest days.”

Thank you  for your generous support. Beads of Courage is just one of the many ways you are supporting our sick kids and their families across our hospital.