This Year (2024) at the Pumpkin Patch our chosen charity is Padua ward (children’s ward) at William Harvey Hospital.

Many of you may know our daughter Rosa-Mae was diagnosed with brain tumours in September 2018 at the age of 6. Since then, she has had multiple brain surgeries at Kings Hospital in London and has completed a gruelling 72-week course of Chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden and William Harvey hospital.

In May of 2021, after being off the chemo for less than six months it was decided that Rosa-Mae should start up Chemotherapy again, this time for a weekly dose for 70 weeks.

Rosa-Mae rang the bell to signify the end of this treatment on 4th October 2022!!

She will continue to be monitored now to check her tumours don’t grow.

Thanks to the amazing community nurse teams and her wonderful consultants she was able to have this weekly dose at the William Harvey. This meant not having to drive to The Royal Marsden every week and meant Rosa-Mae didn’t miss more school.

Padua is a wonderful place. It’s a children’s ward, so no-one chooses to be there, but the nurses, doctors, consultants, play therapists and all the staff make it a happy place where we feel safe about the treatment Rosa-Mae is receiving. We have spent a LOT of time in the rooms on Padua over the last few years and everyone there wants to help and make the time spent there as best it can be given the circumstances.

If you would like to donate to Padua to help the play therapists with their supplies and to help make a family’s worst time, a little easier and to help give the staff the resources to do this, then please come and visit us at the Pumpkin Patch where a percentage of the £4 per car entrance fee will go to the charity,  go to our JustGiving page (the link is on Facebook) or pop some change into our orange buckets.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Claire, Ed, Finn, Roo and Rosa-Mae

Holding Little Hands- a branch of our Child Health campaign- raises funds for play, treats and the extras for children on the Padua Ward at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford. Since 2018, Holding Little Hands has been working with the Play Team on Padua Ward to provide musical bumps classes, storytelling activities and virtual reality goggles! We know that we can make the experience for children on the ward better, when they are entertained, happy and distracted from the treatments that they are receiving. Being admitted to hospital can be a frightening experience for children of all ages, and we want to provide entertainment for older children and adolescents on Padua Ward too. Your donations will help us expand our remit so that all of our children and young people can benefit from our fun activities. Thank you for your support.