This brilliant charity is bringing a smile to critically ill children in London hospitals

Spread a Smile - which gives children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions access to special games and entertainment - has just teamed up with its 10th partner, Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust.
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A brilliant charity is helping bring joy to critically-ill children in London hospitals during some of the darkest times in their lives.

Spread a Smile - which gives children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions access to special games and entertainment - has just teamed up with its 10th partner, Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust.

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It is already partnered with other NHS institutions across London, including Great Ormond Street Hospital, and has been featured on the BBC’s Children In Need.

Entertainers, magicians, singers, face-painters, therapy dogs all make bedside visits, and the youngsters also get to enjoy art initiatives and family events.

Lydia Austin is one of the youngsters who benefits from the fantastic scheme.

Lydia Austin taking part in Spread A Smile. Lydia Austin taking part in Spread A Smile.
Lydia Austin taking part in Spread A Smile.

She was diagnosed with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 aged,  an extremely rare disorder that causes tumours in glands and parts of the small intestine and stomach.

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At 12 years old, she was diagnosed with metastatic neuroendocrine cancer, which had progressed at an unexpected rate.

This has meant that Lydia has had to endure multiple invasive surgeries to remove tumours, daily medication and ongoing hospital treatment.

Lydia’s diagnosis, treatment and long and repeated hospital stays have dominated her life and she’s missed so much of her young life which teenagers take for granted.

Her mother, Suzanne, said:“Pain and treatment has really upsetting for Lydia, and consequently, me.

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“When your child doesn’t feel well and they are very vulnerable and you can’t hug them, it is the hardest thing.  It goes completely against a mother’s natural instincts.

“But this all changed when Spread a Smile visited.

Lydia Austin in hospital with Spread A Smile. Lydia Austin in hospital with Spread A Smile.
Lydia Austin in hospital with Spread A Smile.

“Magicians doing magic tricks, fairies singing and artists face painting with glitter and gems - it brightened up our day.

“They lifted Lydia’s mood and gave us something else to think and talk about. 

“When you have a child going through cancer treatment, any support means so much more.”

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Born with chronic kidney disease, six-year-old Austin Hillyer has spent his whole life in and out of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

However, in early 2020, a transplant became necessary.

But two weeks before the operation was scheduled, all living donor transplants were halted as the nation went into lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The next four months caused an unimaginable strain on the lives of Austin, his twin sister Annabelle, and their parents, who shielded at home.

Austin and Annabelle enjoying Spread a Smile. Austin and Annabelle enjoying Spread a Smile.
Austin and Annabelle enjoying Spread a Smile.

Austin and Annabelle were kept from being with their reception classmates who had returned to school towards the end of term, losing out on essential parts of their learning and development.

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When he finally received the surgery four months after originally intended, so much about hospitals had changed.

Austin’s mother, Donna, said: “It was heart-breaking to see children confined to their beds and playrooms closed.

“There was nothing to distract Austin from his illness and treatment.”

However Austin loved Spread a Smile’s tv service, where children can enjoy special videos from entertainers and celebrities.

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He also joined in virtual arts and craft sessions and visited Santa’s grotto, while he continued to shield for months after his surgery.

“Austin had gone inside of himself during the trauma of his transplant journey, but Spread a Smile’s presence dramatically improved his wellbeing and returned him to the ‘sunny kid’ we know him to be,” Donna said.

And on Annabelle being included, she added: “Siblings often feel left out, so everything that linked them and gave them a shared experience was invaluable.

“There have been so many positive moments for Austin in the midst of more difficult ones thanks to Spread a Smile.”

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