Yesterday was a truly special day for Milly’s Smiles as we delivered our 1,000th Milly Bag to Ward 86 at The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
It’s a moment that represents nine years of dedication, love, hard work, and support from the local community. Whilst the day was very emotional, it also provided a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come, and the difference we have been able to make to so many families.
Our very first delivery was made back in March 2016, to what was then Ward 84. Helen, one of our trustees, arrived at the entrance with 25 of our Milly Bags, only to be met by staff expecting a few small items on a little admin trolley, they were definitely not expecting the bag to be quite so big! The bags were an immediate success, the nurses loved having something positive to offer newly admitted families, and parents described them as a “hug in a bag” from someone who truly understood. Interestingly when we began supplying our bags we named them ‘Welcome Bags’ but slowly over time the parents referred to them as Milly Bags, which we loved and obviously were thrilled to rename them as such.
Over the years the bags have evolved with lots of extra items being added following feedback from families, which has resulted in them becoming the incredible bags that they are today.
When I began Milly’s Smiles, just a few months after losing Milly, I had no idea where the charity would go, my main motivation was to keep Milly’s memory alive whilst also helping and supporting families walking the same path Milly and I did.
Milly’s Smiles has been my saviour, the charity gave me a purpose and a reason for going on. Losing my beautiful daughter has been the single worst thing that has ever happened to me and I know I will never recover from being without her, however, Milly’s Smiles has allowed me to keep her with me every single day, and I am so grateful for that.
Yesterday was such an honour for our charity, we have supported every new admission onto the children’s oncology unit without fail, we have never left the ward without bags, and have never reneged on our promise to support families every single day. Not only that but we have expanded our support to other oncology families across a large part of the country, and I am so very proud of all that we have achieved.
Our team were extremely well looked after yesterday, they had the chance to speak to many families, children and staff who looked after Milly when she was on the ward. A couple of our team managed to get themselves a lovely tattoo from Tallulah who had set up her own studio beside her bed! We received some beautiful cards from the children and these will be displayed in our unit and treasured forever. It was especially wonderful to have a visit from Helen, who was the Ward Manager when Milly was being treated, and was instrumental in helping us get our Milly Bags onto the ward 9 years ago.
It wasn’t an easy decision to acknowledge the 1,000th delivery, we were all conscious that we didn’t want it to become a celebration, but we knew that we had to do something to recognise all that we have done. It was lovely that all the families we spoke with validated our feelings, telling us we should be acknowledging the day, as the difference we make to their journey is huge.
I feel sure Milly will have been watching the team yesterday, and will have loved seeing some of her nurses, especially the ‘real’ Becky, who kindly had her photo taken with Gemma! She really will be so proud of what we do in her name, and the difference we make to children just like her.
#MillysSmiles #1000MillyBags #ChildhoodCancerSupport #InMemoryOfMilly #MakingADifference #WithLoveAndPurpose
