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| Helping children’s dreams come true |
| Written by Communications Team |
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Senior paediatric physiotherapist Linda Berwick of the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust has been quietly helping the dreams of a special group of children to come true for the past 14 years.
 Linda is seen here in the small physiotherapy gym at St. Peter’s Hospital where she treats her young patients
She is one of a band of volunteers who use their own time to accompany either terminally ill, special needs or profoundly physically disabled children on a “holiday of a lifetime” to theme parks in central Florida. This year she took two St. Peter’s Hospital patients with her, bringing the number she has taken from the hospital to eight, since she joined the staff nearly seven years ago.
Said Linda: “We had a super time with the Mickey Mouse regional group led by Carol Whapshare, a part-time special needs carer from Treloars School. All the children were thrilled to have a private meeting with Mickey Mouse, and this year Minnie also joined him.
 Magic picture! Linda is fifth from left on the back row, sporting Mickey Mouse ears and a big smile!
“With all the Roller Coasters to have a go on and a very special time swimming with the dolphins we delivered the children tired, but happy, back to their parents with memories of a “Dreamflight” they would never forget. And I’d like to take this opportunity of thanking my husband, Bill, for always being so very supportive of me.”
The idea of taking sick children and adult helpers to Disneyworld was the brainchild of two British Airways staff back in 1986. They got together with interested colleagues and a year later a Boeing 747 with 288 sick children took off for a five day holiday. It was such a success that it’s taken place annually ever since.
Linda has just returned this year’s 10 day trip to Orlando’s Disneyworld where 192 children were looked after by 140 adults. They are split into 12 regional groups with eight adults to 16 children, each group including a specialist paediatric physiotherapist like Linda, a paediatrician and three specialist nurses and three non-medical volunteers as well as a member of the BA staff which could be the pilot of the 747 plane or one of the crew! There are also a team of night nurses who look after the children between 9pm to 7am.
The youngsters, aged 10-15 years, and their parents, had first met all the people who would be looking after them when they had a tea party gathering in September. The evening before the flight they were then dropped off at the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow, and while their families went off to enjoy 10 days of respite time, the holiday began! Next morning they were bused, with a police escort, to a decorated hanger at Heathrow where their special plane was ready to take them on their dream flight!
They all stayed at the Holiday Inn, Kissimmee, opposite Universal Studios. Each group took a Disney character name and had the chance to have a get together with that character and have their photo taken. The Main Street Parade also gave them a chance to meet all the other characters, who knew exactly where the youngsters were waiting so they could stop and greet them. The “Mickey Mouse” regional group was formed 14 years ago and the children are always from Surrey, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and the Isle of Wight.
Fourteen years ago, for five years, Linda helped the Cystic Fibrosis Trust take youngsters on holiday. Then she joined the staff of the Treloars School, Alton, and found herself working alongside Carol Whapshare who organised Dreamflights for those pupils and from then on Linda has never looked back!
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 November 2008 18:57 ) |
