A new family coffee morning at Royal Brompton is helping support parents of children with cardiomyopathy, giving them a chance to socialise with other parents, and take a break from the ward.
Paediatric inherited cardiac conditions (ICC) nurse specialists Lucy Green and Louise Parker organised the event following requests from parents wanting to meet others in the same situation, away from the ward environment.
The coffee mornings are aimed at families of young (under fives) Royal Brompton patients who have cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder to pump blood around the body).
Lucy said: “We wanted to give families the opportunity to socialise with each other in an informal setting, to share experiences and support each other.”
Louise added: “Many of our families travel long distances to receive care, so spending long periods of time on the ward can be very isolating. We thought the coffee morning would be a good way of bringing them together outside of the hospital to make them feel less alone.”
One of the parents who came to the first coffee morning was Maddie Blackwell, mum of one-year-old Albert. She said: “It was really comforting to meet other parents and chat to families who are going through the same thing as we are.
“When you’re on the ward, everyone’s emotions are heightened, and you focus on your child’s condition. The coffee morning gave us a break from that and added a bit of normality into our time here. I found it helpful to share experiences and hear from other parents about how they manage when things get difficult.”
