Celebrating World IBD Day
World IBD Day is on Thursday, May 19. It unites the globe in battling Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, including Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis – and funding from Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity is helping young patients with IBD at the Royal Hospital for Children.
Living with IBD
At the children’s hospital around 380 children currently receive ongoing treatment for IBD, with a third receiving biologic therapy and requiring regular visits.
IBD affects a wide age range of patients – some of the youngest are just two years old - while at the other end of the spectrum there are young adults up to the age of 18 that receive treatment. Ward 1C – the Day Care unit – sees between six to eight IBD patients per day for blood tests or infusions.
“We’d be lost without them!” says Gastroenterology Nurse Consultant, Vikki Garrick.
“I've worked with children and young people with IBD for 16 years now and I still love this job! I never cease to be impressed with how our young people manage this condition and how resilient they are. The symptoms of IBD can be really challenging and this, coupled with the usual challenges of growing up, can make it difficult to deal with.
“We work really hard to support our young people - encouraging them to put themselves in the driving seat and their IBD in the back seat. I'm so proud of them for how they manage that - they really are an awesome bunch!”
Gastroenterology Nurse Consultant, Vikki Garrick
How we have helped
Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity contributed funding to pioneering research and the development of less restrictive diets for children with Crohn’s disease, named the CD Treat Diet.
It gives IBD patients the opportunity to move past a diet of liquids, giving patients more flexibility and confidence when managing their condition. And not only that, but our volunteers have travelled the length and breadth of the country to deliver it.
Nurse Lisa said:
“The charity has been crucial in supporting IBD Research in our department. They have provided funding for our dietary CD-Treat research project as well as providing Volunteer drivers to deliver this diet to patients in their homes, even as far as England.”
We also have paid for taxis for families dealing with IBD who otherwise may have struggled to attend important appointments for biologic infusions.
Vikki added:
“We were so grateful that we had the charity to help to support these families who would have been otherwise unable to bring their child to hospital for their medicine.”
On World IBD Day we are working to raise awareness of IBD conditions and our teams’ incredible work at the Royal Hospital for Children.