During her residency, Caroline Gregson worked one-to-one with patients and their families for six weeks across three wards at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, including General Surgical, General Medical and Oncology.
Caroline ensured that she always had a range of willow weaving projects that were suitable to not only the age but also the physical capability of the participants. She was also able to adapt some projects so that children who were confined to a prone position could weave successfully.
Word spread around the wards, and some parents were asking for Caroline to come and see their child having spoken with other parents. She worked with a few long-term patients during the residency so various willow creations stayed on display in the children’s rooms for quite some time.
“It makes me focus on making the willow turn rather than on the pain.”
– Alder Hey participant
“The days are so long, this gives him something to look forward to. It felt like normality.”
– Parent of participant
“It’s lovely to make something we can keep forever.”
– Alder Hey participant
“I think it is important for the individual child to choose what they want to do. So much of what happens to them in the hospital is not their own choice, so if I can give them back a little bit of autonomy then I think that is valuable. A few children had very definite ideas about what they wanted to do, and I was happy to adapt projects to make these wishes happen…
Willow is an amazing material, very accessible and different to everything else that the children encounter during their stay in hospital. I think I may have created a few willow converts, with promises to find out more and have another go once they were back at home. It was lovely to pass on some pointers to a child and his mum, who were missing their rural home, about other wild materials they could collect and use in weaving.”
– Caroline Gregson