You're Amazing (Summer/Autumn 2018) | Page 7

young patients Worry Monster moves in to the Children’s Allergy Service Meet our Worry Monster! Thanks to your support, it now lives in the clinic rooms of the allergy service at Evelina London, helping children to work through anxieties they may have around their condition. Young patients share their concerns by writing them down and putting them in its mouth. These worries stay there, so the furry fellow has a mouthful of thoughts that different children have put in it. Lizzie Doncaster is mother to nine-year-old Joe, who has multiple life- threatening food allergies and chronic eczema. She was impressed at how much the Worry Monster helped her son during his clinic sessions. ‘It opened up a conversation that I don’t think would have happened without the Worry Monster,’ says Lizzie. ‘We went through all the different worries that were thrown up in this particular clinic from other children and Joe said, “I wonder if that’s all the boys that I’m friends with in the clinic” - so that opened up another conversation. ‘The Worry Monster enables him to have a little bit more control over things and articulate his feelings better.’ ‘It’s really fantastic to be able to use the Worry Monster as part of the service we provide to our patients,’ says Dr Polly James, clinical psychologist in the children’s allergy service. ‘It’s a great tool to help reduce worries and emotional difficulties. So many families have been able to benefit from the Worry Monster, which has made a huge difference to their quality of life.’ By making a regular gift, you could help create more innovative ways to help Evelina London go above and beyond. Start giving today at supportevelina.org.uk/gift 8; (L-R) Douglas, age 9; Caiden, age age an, Roh 7; age er, Oliv 9; Joe, age 7 7