Help kids like Pippa get home.
Every year in Australia, one million kids are admitted to hospital and 50% of them suffer from homesickness. In sick kids, it can lead to depression, anxiety, and their symptoms getting worse.
Pippa (3), was born with a rare genetic disorder called 2q13 microdeletion linked with child-development delay, intellectual disability, feeding difficulties and low muscle tone.
Pippa at home with mum, Hayley, in Port Augusta.
Needing a paediatric specialist, Pippa was torn away from the security of her home and travelled 308km to receive critical treatment at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH). These visits became more frequent, resulting in her being away from her family for up to two weeks at any given time.
Pippa’s mum, Hayley, says, “Hospital admissions are hard. But being 3.5 hours away from your support system, your own bed, just your own kitchen, is a whole other level. Watching your baby be poked and prodded and not being able to breathe or tap out for even just two minutes was so hard.”
Pippa at home with dad, Dave, in Port Augusta.
The constant travel and being away from home left a lasting effect on Pippa who was accustomed to being with her sisters Izabelle, Maggie and Aria.
Hayley explains, “It wasn’t until Pippa hit two years old that the reality of hospital admissions hit Pippa. It’s awful, she would just sit there, crying at the door asking for her dad and sisters.”
Pippa having fun with her sisters, Aria and Maggie.
To help families get their child home sooner, the WCH Home Equipment Centre provide 1200 families access to vital equipment that enable their children to be cared for at home. Here, Pippa’s supplies such as feeding tubes, syringes and nasal cannulas for oxygen are easily accessible which allows Pippa to receive treatment at home.
Pippa with mum, Hayley, in Port Augusta.
“Access to home equipment means Pippa can live her life with the people she loves most in the world whilst getting the care she needs,” explains Hayley.
Supporting families every step of their hospital journey.
We invest more than $2.5 million annually to brighten lives, support brilliant care and help ensure the WCH remains a leading paediatric specialist hospital for women, children and their families.
Your support will help fund services and programs that directly benefit families like Pippa’s.
Your support helps sick kids from communities far and wide.
Each year we provide a safety net for families in need who are being cared for by the WCH. Our Family Support Programs assist families with the costs related to a child’s hospitalisation with items such as emergency transport and accommodation, groceries, and maintenance of medical equipment to use at home.
Our support reaches families across South Australia, Northern Territory, Broken Hill and the Sunraysia Region of Victoria. Your donation can help support regional families facing significant challenges and financial duress with a sick child.
Your support helps kids like Pippa feel safe.
Being in hospital can be a frightening and traumatic experience for children, especially when they are far from home. To help alleviate this and provide patients with a sense of control, we support and deliver a Play Therapy service. Play Therapists improve a child’s wellbeing through creating a positive, safe environment where patients are free to express themselves through play.
Whether a child is in hospital for an appointment, surgery or for an indefinite stay, Play Therapy is a critical program that helps to minimise a child’s anxiety and stress when away from the comforts of home.
Your support helps kids like Pippa get back to their families.
We are proud to support the WCH in providing services like the Home Equipment Centre.
The Home Equipment Centre is accessed by more than 1,200 patients and their families each year. Having access to medical equipment through the Centre means patients can live their lives outside the walls of the Hospital.