Tiger Ward team hosts summer party
Tiger Ward (our children’s cancer unit) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital held a summer party on Friday 11 August at the Meridian Club sports field. There were four bouncy castles, an ice cream van, games, and music for the 30 patients who came to the celebration.
Linda Lou Lee, a 14-year-old patient on Tiger Ward, has been receiving chemotherapy for bone cancer since September 2022; at the summer party, she rang the bell to mark the end of her treatment.
You can watch a video of Linda Lou ringing the end-of-treatment bell below:
Linda Lou rings the end-of-treatment bell at the Tiger Ward summer party - YouTube
Jeannie Lee, Linda Lou's mum, explained: "It was a special moment for Linda Lou and our family to see her ring the end-of-treatment bell after a difficult time. What a day to do it, and it was amazing to see her enjoying herself in the sunshine. We are so grateful to the Tiger Ward Team, especially Sam and Cat for what they have done for us, we cannot thank them enough."
Olivia Rose Taylor aged seven and her father Matt Taylor attended the party. Olivia was diagnosed with a grade 1 optic nerve glioma (brain tumour) at only 17 months old and is now registered blind. She's been receiving chemotherapy treatment on Tiger Ward for the last five years.
Matt said: “What a brilliant summer party, providing the children with a much-needed distraction. The Tiger Ward team constantly goes above and beyond for Olivia, always making her feel safe and creating happy memories for her."
Cat Wilde, Lead Macmillan Paediatric Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist, added: “This was our first Tiger Ward summer party, and what a great event. Every one of our patients on Tiger Ward, along with their families, are very dear to us. They are all members of the Tiger Ward family, and we get to know them very well. It is important to us to have events like these as it helps our patients and their families to have some normality and participate in activities that other children will be doing, especially over the summer holidays when it is vital for families to make memories together.
“All of this would not be possible without the support of our sponsors; a special thanks to Elliott's Bouncy Castle Hire, who donated four bouncy castles, Meridian Sports Club for letting us use the venue free of charge and also providing the food and drink at a discounted price and The Chartwell Cancer Trust, who paid for all the food and drink."
Tiger Ward Team and patients
Cat and Sam with Linda Lou 