Teaching families about diabetes 

Previously the Chelsea Children’s Hospital Charity, we re-launched as The Children’s Surgery Foundation in 2019 to reflect the national scope of our work today. The story below is from our days as the Chelsea Children’s Hospital Charity.

Recently we were delighted to be able to fund 50 informative books for children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Now each family will receive their own book at the time of diagnosis to help them cope with, and understand, the disease.

"A new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children is a challenging time for the child, parents and the wider family. The implications of a chronic medical problem and the need to learn about a number of aspects of diabetes can be quite daunting. This book is a very useful educational resource for parents and older children," says Dr Saji Alexander, Consultant Paediatrician.

We were able to fund the books thanks to the efforts of one of our fabulous fundraisers. “Both my daughter, who has a rare condition, and my son have both been very well looked after at Chelsea Children’s Hospital,” says dad Ruaraidh Thomas. Ruaraidh took on the Royal Parks Half Marathon for us, raising over £1,000 to cover the cost of the books and more. Thank you!