WellChild 2019 Awards celebrating 'resilience' and 'bravery' of seriously ill children calls for nominations

Poppy Slater

A national charity celebrating the inspirational qualities of UK's seriously ill children has called on the public to nominate young people for the 2019 WellChild Awards.

The annual event, held in the autumn, honours youngsters who have shown outstanding bravery or a professional who has gone above and beyond their duty.

The awards covers five categories including:

  • Inspirational child or young person

  • Most caring child or young person

  • Nurse

  • Doctor

  • Outstanding professional award

  • Health team

Poppy Slater, 13, who won a WellChild Award last year has Panenteric Crohns Disease.

Her condition has meant she has had to stay in hospital extensively and take plenty of medication to keep the disease in remission, as there is no cure.

She told ITV News the awards "felt like a dream" because it was so "extravagant".

Describing how the disease affects her day-to-day life she said it gives her "a lot of stomach pains".

She said: "It can be quite hard because I can't take part in everything I'd like to take part in because I get tired and I miss out on lots of things."

She added: "For anyone who has any medical condition or anything like that, my advice for them would be to not let it stop you from doing anything you love because you can always try and find another way to do it."

Her father, Gary Slater, said Poppy has to endure "painful" treatment every eight weeks.

Describing what the awards mean to the family he said: "You meet a lot of children and their families and their support network and they might have very different conditions but the experience of the families is pretty much the same really.

"It's about dealing with the adversity."

Poppy's father, Gary Slater.

The Duke of Sussex, a patron of the charity, praised the awards for celebrating the "resilience" of young children who have shown bravery in the face of adversity.

Speaking at the 2018 WellChild Awards he said: “The stories that we’ve all just heard - of resilience, strength of spirit, and the power of working together –were without doubt, incredibly moving and motivating.

"They really sum up what WellChild is all about – giving families the best chance to care for their children at home, and supporting them through the reality of all that that entails."

If you know someone who deserves special recognition then nominate them for a WellChild Award by visiting www.wellchild.org.uk/awards or by contacting the charity on 01242 530007 to request a nomination form. The closing date for entries is May 7th 2019.