Children having surgery given LEGO by Fairy Bricks charity

Patients of Plym Children’s Theatres at Derriford Hospital were treated to a special visit from Santa after a large donation of LEGO was received.

Fairy Bricks has one very simple objective: to give LEGO to children in hospital. After an appeal from Healthcare Assistant Jo White, the theatres received over £3000 worth of LEGO to give children in order to make their visit a bit easier.

Jo said: “The children’s wards receive a lot of donations at this time of year and I didn’t want the theatres to be forgotten, so I got in touch with the charity.

“I couldn’t believe it when the van arrived all the way from Huddersfield with such a generous donation.”

Head Operating Department Practitioner Dave Pendleton said: “There was loads of joy when we gave out the presents; their faces lit up and even the older children secretly like a bit of LEGO.”

Matron Michelle Smith added: “We’re all big kids at heart so we like to take any opportunity to celebrate and dress up and enjoy ourselves, creating an environment that children feel comfortable in, and the festive season is a great time to do that.”

Fairy Bricks says that play is a vital part of the recovery process when children are in hospital, providing comfort and distraction and is often used as an educational tool by Play Specialists.

Santa even took time out of his busy schedule today to bring extra cheer to families and staff alike.

Plym Children’s Theatres are the only dedicated children’s theatre unit in the South West  looking after 5000 children a year of all ages from premature babies to the age of 18 years.

This includes Orthopaedics, Ear, Nose & Throat surgery, general surgery, Dental, Ophthalmology, Plastic Surgery, Maxillo-facial, Endoscopy, Imaging – MRI and CT scans, Oncology (cancer treatment).