Reunion with one of our little-est patients
The Alfred’s hyperbaric team had a special visit from a former patient, who came back to pick up her “space helmet”.
Two-year-old Willow regularly travelled from the Royal Children’s Hospital to The Alfred for hyperbaric oxygen treatment (also known as space missions) after contracting a life-threatening fungal infection whilst undergoing chemotherapy for leukaemia.
With both the leukaemia and fungal infection now in remission, and after a long seven months in hospital, Willow is enjoying being back at home with her family.
As a result of their adventures together, the entire hyperbaric team - doctors, nurses, engineers and more - learned to sing songs from Frozen (2013) and became very familiar with the plotline of Finding Nemo (2003).
Willow’s dad Andrew thanked the team for making them feel comfortable and welcome during a tough time.
“You guys made it such an amazing environment for her, which meant the world to us,” Andrew said.
“We’re glad to be able to visit under much happier circumstances.”
Head of Hyperbaric Dr Bridget Devaney said the whole team was thrilled to see Willow healthy and in good spirits.
“We’re just really, really happy to hear that things are going well, and to say hello again,” Dr Devaney said.
"We have been treating an unprecedented number of paediatric patients in the hyperbaric chamber recently, and it's important that we make the experience as positive as we can for the children and their families.
"We're delighted with the feedback we have received from Willow's family and hope to continue to explore ways to make it a comfortable and fun experience for our little-est patients."
