Two boys from Calverton are giving up part of their Christmas Day to spread some festive cheer among patients at a Nottingham hospital.
Brothers Joshua and Noah Kirwan-Thomas will be delivering hampers and gifts to patients at City Hospital on December 25.
Unlike most children their age, who would ordinarily be unwrapping their own gifts, the eight and 11-year-olds have selflessly decided to visit the oncology ward to give the patients a memorable Christmas.
Joshua and Noah’s mother Rhiannon is a newly qualified nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) and volunteered to work on the ward on Christmas day.
Rhiannon, from Calverton, said: “I’m extremely proud of the boys for wanting to do this. They understand why these patients need continued care and why it’s important for me to work on Christmas day. Instead of making a fuss they’ve thought about the needs of others and how they could help spread a little festive cheer.
“They’ve gone to a lot of effort to organise the gift hampers. With a little assistance from their older sister Nia they sent handwritten letters to 17 businesses asking them to donate various items. They’ve helped to put the 18 hampers together, decorated each one and will be coming to the ward on Christmas morning to give them to the patients.”
Mandie Sunderland, chief nurse at NUH, added: “Joshua and Noah are very special boys and I would like to thank them and the Kirwan-Thomas family personally for this tremendous effort and for wanting to spread goodwill to our patients.
“This is a wonderful gesture and highlights the support our amazing staff receive from their families. We try to ensure that any patient who is able to go home at Christmas makes it home for the celebrations, however, there are some patients, such as those on Fraser Ward, who will need to remain as an inpatient for the holidays due to their ongoing treatment.
“Receiving a thoughtful gift like this will make a huge difference to these patients on Christmas day.”
Good on these boys.
Well done boys. Hope you get something nice this Xmas in return for your efforts