The difference we make: Rosie's Story

We recently received this incredibly heartfelt message from a parent, Jane. Although upsetting, it is also an uplifting story of the joy and happiness that can be experienced in even the most difficult times… 

“I wanted to get in touch to say thank you to the Giggle Doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, who made such a difference to my daughter’s time in hospital.

Rosie (aged 7) arrived at the Marsden in December with stage 4 liver cancer… She was acutely unwell and very traumatised by the amount of intrusive interventions she had had to undergo in a previous hospital. It had been a complete whirlwind and we arrived at the Marsden within a week of the diagnosis. Rosie stopped talking, and our typically happy chatty daughter withdrew into herself. It was heartbreaking to see, and then just after Christmas she met two of your amazing Giggle Doctors, Dr Yo-Ho and Dr Bananas. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I watched with amazement as Rosie started smiling, laughing and talking again and for a while she was able to escape the pain and the grim reality of cancer. I hadn’t heard her talk in over a week and hadn’t seen her smile since before Christmas. The weekly visit of the Giggle Doctors became a real highlight in our week and something for Rosie to look forward to.

We were also lucky to meet Dr Dotty and  Dr Geehee who, in addition to Dr Yo Ho and Dr Bananas, were outstanding. Their ability to adapt to the ever changing situation of a hospital environment and Rosie’s health was impressive to watch and they would always tailor their interactions accordingly.

Devastatingly Rosie never got to leave the Marsden and she died in May after being in hospital for almost 5 months. We continue to struggle with our loss of Rosie which has left a massive void in our lives but I wanted to express how grateful we are for the joy and laughter that the Giggle Doctors brought into Rosie’s last few months of life. It is a wonderful charity which has an amazingly powerful impact on children and indeed on their families too.”