Is it just me or does everyone think some things are worth more than money?

Is it just me or does everyone think some things are worth more than money?

It’s the final week of Mix FM’s Give Me Five for Kids (GM5FK), raising money for sick kids and their families. This week we were introduced to a four year old boy called Eddie who goes to Little Sprouts in Bli Bli.

When Eddie was 17 months old he fell off the couch at home and was taken to hospital with a bleed on the brain. Eddie underwent surgery but 48 hours later his brain was still bleeding. Doctors ultimately diagnosed haemophilia.

While in hospital, Eddie contracted golden staph and had a large portion of his skull removed. His skull took two years to regrow. Eddie’s mother Jo manages his haemophilia with regular stays in hospital and numerous doctor and specialist appointments.

Eddie endures countless tests and procedures, which are very painful. Last month he spent 14 days in Sunshine Coast University Hospital, most recently he was admitted after jumping on the trampoline at Australia Zoo’s GM5FK day.

Eddie’s favourite people, beside his mum, are his Nurses Nicole and ‘Miss Darling’ and the clown doctors, Dr Loopy, Dr Nincompoop and Dr Stinky.
This week the teachers at Little Sprouts in Bli Bli, who love Eddie and his mum so much, all cut their hair to raise money for GM5FK because they know the difference it makes to Eddie.

Eddie’s mum says the clown doctors are the best money spent by GM5FK. She says hospital, for all the hard work of doctors and nurses, will never be a happy place for Eddie. It’s a place where he is often traumatised and associates with pain. Heartbreaking when you think how much time he spends there.
Jo says the clown doctors turn up at the most ‘magical moments.’ They entertain Eddie and his six year old brother Joel, sometimes for hours on end and make Eddie laugh when there absolutely nothing to laugh about.

I asked Jo about music therapy too, another thing the community pays for thanks to GM5FK. Jo says music therapy has changed their life.
Until recently, every time Eddie was cannulated, which is regularly, he had to be sedated. The drug used made him anxious and angry as he came down from it. Once at home he would experience terrible nightmares as the drug left his system.

Last month, the doctors decided to try going cold turkey, with nothing but music therapy to calm Eddie during the cannulation procedure. Through tears Jo told me she still can’t believe the result. Eddie fell asleep between her legs on the hospital bed and slept for an hour, something that has never happened before. There was no drug come down and no nightmares.

Jo and Eddie, Mix FM’s Give Me Five for Kids is always for people like you, but this year, it’s especially for you.

Caroline xx