Celebrating Volunteers' Week

It’s Volunteers’ Week! Over the coming days Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity will be paying tribute to the amazing Volunteers that have served us across our 20-year history. 

One of our newest recruits is Dana, who had to wait a while before mucking in due to the Omicron wave of Covid. 

Thankfully she was able to begin working with us at the turn of the year — with a very special boy front of mind as she did so. 

Her son Ronan, now two, has been a patient at the Royal Hospital for Children since birth. 

The pair raised over £1,000 for the charity in our Lap the Map challenge and have been a part of our family ever since. Here is their story. 

Ronan’s journey

Ronan was born – rather unexpectedly – with something called Symbrachydactyly, where one of his hands had not fully developed during pregnancy.  

This didn’t show up in any scans, so we got a bit of a shock when he was born as we didn’t know what it meant or whether it was part of something called Poland Syndrome which affects the chest too. 

As if post-natal visits weren’t hard enough, we had genetics, paediatricians, haematologists all visiting Ronan during our stay (whilst I was trying to navigate being a first-time mum!).  

Eventually we were referred to the Plastics and Orthotics Teams where Ronan would be seen regularly for review – two years down the line these are ongoing and just last week we had great fun in the x-ray waiting room and following the Julia Donaldson trail through the Imaging Corridor, which Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity funded.  

Symbrachydactyly doesn’t hold Ronan back and it is amazing just how much he uses his left hand. 

I always worry what people will say to him when he gets to school but he is such a confident little guy and is great at always giving things a go with both hands.

Ronan's mum, Dana 

All these healthcare professionals, students, and pieces of big scary equipment can be overwhelming for a two-year-old but he is so relaxed when he’s in hospital. 

'Giving back'

I started volunteering with Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity in December 2021 — although due to Covid I didn’t actually manage to do my first volunteering until March. 

When Ronan was born in January 2020, he attended a few of the clinics at the hospital and everyone was so lovely to us.  

This was all during the height of the pandemic, so I was on my own at hospital visits and found it particularly tough at times. Sometimes the staff at the hospital were the only people I was physically seeing. Everyone made us feel as relaxed and welcome as possible. As a result, I wanted to give a little back. 

We took part in Lap the Map in 2020 and Ronan and I managed to raise £1040 for the charity. After that I wanted to get a more involved. So far, I’ve done bucket collections at Rugby Park and at Braehead for Star Wars Day in May – a wonderful day that made lots of smiles from all ages! It is amazing just how generous people are. 

Volunteering highlights

It’s amazing just how many people come up to you and have used the hospital in some capacity with their wee ones – whether it’s long term stays or even just a trip to A&E.  

People are so quick to share their positive stories and it’s incredible hearing about these very brave young children! 

Volunteering has certainly helped me, too. I've had an opportunity to get to know lots of interesting people and learn a bit more about all the wonderful facilities at the hospital.  

Every child (and parent) deserves an experience like the ones Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity help to provide if they have to attend hospital. If I can spare a few hours here and there raising some money to achieve that, then I am more than happy to help.  

I hope Ronan can be proud of me one day and can see just how many people, from the volunteers to those that donate, care about kids like him.