Children recovering from orthopaedic surgery at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) now have access to a colourful new sensory cart, providing comfort and support during their rehabilitation, thanks to funding from the WCH Foundation.

The Rehabilitation Orthopaedic Service cares for children with neuromuscular and physical conditions, who often face significant pain, limited mobility, and overwhelming sensory environments during their hospital stay. For many of these young patients, bright lights, loud spaces, unfamiliar faces and stressful procedures can make recovery even harder.

To help ease these experiences, the team has introduced a mobile sensory cart, filled with carefully selected tools designed to comfort, distract and motivate children throughout their rehabilitation.

The cart features a gentle bubble tube, a projector that washes the room in soft movement, fibre-optic strands to touch and explore, an infinity wall mirror, and an interactive panel that lights up and responds to clapping, talking and music.

These sensory tools are already helping children feel more grounded and calm, providing positive distraction from pain and reducing the stress of procedures such as cast removal, blood tests and cannula insertions.

Rebecca Appleby, Occupational Therapist at the WCH, shared that “’Hospitals can feel overwhelming and unfamiliar for children and their families.”

“By meeting their sensory needs, we can reduce stress and help individuals to feel safe to participate in therapy and interventions, creating positive experiences in hospital.”

For 10-year-old Max, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation, the sensory cart has become part of his exercise program. Each exercise is assigned a colour, and during therapy sessions Max rolls a colour-coded cube to choose what comes next. The sensory cart then lights up in the same colour, helping guide and motivate him through each exercise.

“It’s really cool,” Max said with a grin. “I rate it nine out of ten.”

Seeing children engage so positively with the cart has been especially meaningful for the team.

Rebecca says, “It’s been so exciting to see children like Max be able to enjoy the cart, and to be able to meet their needs in a creative, accessible and fun way.”

When children’s sensory needs are better met, they feel safer, more regulated and more able to participate in therapy, which can support faster recovery and earlier discharge.

The WCH Foundation is proud to have funded this project, helping transform challenging moments into calmer, more positive experiences for children and families.

Just over a month ago, three-year-old Clive’s life changed in an instant. After contracting influenza B with no initial symptoms, he deteriorated rapidly. In the span of half an hour, Clive began having seizures and by the time he had arrived at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, he had lost consciousness.

Within 36 hours, Clive was diagnosed with Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy, a rare and severe inflammation of the brain. He couldn’t walk, talk, or sit up, and spent nearly a week in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

“When Clive first woke up, he couldn’t communicate or sit up,” says his mum, Monique. “He was just lying on his side in his bed.”

But slowly, progress came. Over the following weeks, Clive began crawling and now in the last week he has been running around and chatting again.

For Monique, it’s been nothing short of incredible. “We didn’t think Clive would ever walk or talk again. To see him now, smiling and running, it’s huge.”

One of the biggest surprises in Clive’s recovery has been the role of the Dog Therapy program.

“Clive loves the therapy dogs. Every week he looks at the roster and asks me, ‘How many sleeps until my dog comes?’” Monique says with a smile. “The moment they walk in, his whole face lights up. He’ll play games, hide treats, and start walking around without even realising he’s doing therapy. It changes everything.”

The Dog Therapy program at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital has been running since 2016, sponsored by the WCH Foundation and delivered in partnership with Delta Therapy Dogs. Beyond cuddles and smiles, research shows animal assisted therapy reduces stress and anxiety, improves communication, boosts mental health, and can even speed up recovery times.

With over 100 sessions delivered each year across Paediatric Rehabilitation, Newland Ward, and Mallee Ward, the program has become a vital part of care at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

For families like Monique’s, the benefits are impossible to measure.

“Some days it would take me half an hour just to get Clive out of his pram,” she says. “But if he knows the dogs are coming, he’s straight up.”

Today, Clive’s recovery continues with intensive rehab, but the joy on his face is proof of just how far he’s come. “There’s hope now,” Monique says.