Andy’s Children’s Hospice Patient Receives Well-Deserved Inspirational Child Award
Andy’s patient Noah Nicholson was a deserving winner of the Inspirational Child Award at this year's WellChild awards.
Six-year-old Noah, who has been with Andy’s for five years, radiates joy and always has a smile on his face. Noah was born prematurely at just 27 weeks and weighing just two pounds and has been in theatre 28 times, including 14 life-saving procedures, spending much of his young life in hospital.
Noah has cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, short bowel disease, and other serious health issues, leading to chronic pain and the need for constant medical care. Yet Noah remains cheerful and smiling!
Sally Szollosi, Children’s Inpatient Lead Nurse at Andy’s, which is part of St Andrew’s Hospice, describes Noah as "an incredibly happy young man”.
She added: “Noah has been through so much in his short little life, and yet his smile, laugh and excited energy is infectious."
Tracy, Noah’s mum, explains that she found out about the WellChild awards whilst Noah was in hospital.
“Noah was recovering from a procedure in hospital, and I happened to see the awards in a Facebook post. He’d been through such a tough time so I thought that it would be lovely recognition, so I nominated him.
“I didn’t expect it to actually go anywhere as they’re national awards and there are so many deserving children.”
Speaking of the day they found out Noah had won, Tracy said, “I got an email to say he was a finalist and immediately started to panic. Obviously with Noah’s condition it’s so difficult to travel and I just thought ‘how are we going to get to London?!’
“We were at another hospital appointment when we found out he had won, and I just burst into tears. I was so proud of him.”
Despite the worry about how they would attend the awards, Tracy said that WellChild “took care of everything”, taking out all the worry and stress so that Noah could enjoy the recognition he deserves.
The star-studded event was a joyous whirlwind for the family. Tracy recalls sitting on a table with Kate Garraway, who Noah cheekily put stickers on, and Phantom from Gladiator! Noah also reunited with old friend Prince Harry, who he had met in 2019.
“It was amazing because Prince Harry recognised Noah. He was wonderful with him, even though Noah did throw his teddy at him and grab his face! It was just like the last time.”
When asked what Noah’s favourite part of the awards was, Tracy said: “He absolutely loved being on stage and receiving his award. He also got to meet Oti from Strictly Come Dancing and get an autograph. She does a dance show on CBeebies which he loves.
“But his favourite moment, and one he keeps talking about, is when they showed his winner video. His hero, Doctor Ranj, who he absolutely loves, did the voice over and appeared in it. It made Noah so happy; we've watched it several times since and he's so excited with it.”
We want to say a big congratulations to Noah for this amazing and well-deserved award, and for being a true inspiration every day.
You can watch Noah’s winner video here.