9-year-old from Rotherham walks 100km to say thank you for care at Sheffield Children’s

A brave nine-year-old from Rotherham has raised over £800 by walking an astonishing 100km to help raise funds for the hospital that has supported her through a chronic condition.

In August 2016, Georgina was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) – a chronic autoimmune disease, which sees the body’s immune system mistakenly attack the joints, causing inflammation and stiffness. The condition can affect the whole body and often needs several different types of treatment.  Arthritis is typically thought of as a condition that affects older people, but approximately one in every 1000 under 16 have it too.

Initially, Georgina’s care was split between her local hospital and Sheffield Children’s. However, after experiencing the dedicated care in Sheffield, her mum, Julie, transferred all of Georgina’s care there.

Julie said:

“It’s incredible to see the way they treat her. She feels so confident when she visits the hospital, and they help her to feel that she is managing her condition herself. They talk to her directly and make sure she understands everything and can make choices about her care. I would travel twice as far to get to Sheffield Children’s.”

Georgina loves the child-friendly nature of Sheffield Children’s. From watching films during scans to travelling to appointments in adventure-themed lifts, Georgina and Julie find it’s the little things that make a big difference.

Julie said:

“Sheffield Children’s is like a theme park for when you’re poorly; everything is tailored to the children.”

After enjoying her hospital visits so much, Georgina decided she wanted to fundraise to help other children have the same experience.

A few years ago, Georgina took on a 30km walking challenge, but this time she wanted to go bigger to raise even more money for The Children’s Hospital Charity, and extended the challenge to 100km!

Georgina’s condition can be affected by the weather, so the mild conditions of May made it the perfect time for her challenge. Each day Georgina would vary how far she walked to make sure she didn’t have any flare-ups. She never believed she couldn’t do it though, even walking all of Scarborough in a day.

Julie shared Georgina’s efforts on her Facebook page each day, and the whole community rallied behind her, helping her surpass her fundraising target before the event set off! In total, she raised an incredible £857.

Thanks to amazing fundraisers like Georgina, The Children’s Hospital Charity helps Sheffield Children’s to change lives every day. The money raised supports specialist treatment from head to toe, by funding life-saving equipment, new facilities, a comfortable environment and vital research, which changes paediatric care for thousands of children from across the world.

To sign up for your own challenge visit: tchc.org.uk/fundraise.