A large proportion of children with congenital heart disease need to have heart surgery which can be a very frightening and distressing experience for them.
CHF helps ease this experience through an initiative called Molly's Dollies.
When a young child is due to go through heart surgery their cardiac nurse or other healthcare specialist can apply for a Molly's Dolly.
Molly's Dollies are rag dolls individually tailored to have the same scarring as the child post-operation. The dolls can be used by parents, nurses or play therapists to explain to a child any planned procedures or surgery.
Children are encouraged to take the doll to all their hospital appointments and for any overnight stay, so the doll can experience the operation with them and be a source of company and reassurance.
It costs £24 to customise the doll to one child, plus postage and packing.
£12,000 would pay for 500 dolls and would keep the service going for the next couple of years.
Cara loved having her molly dolly with her in the run up to her surgery, it was great to open up conversation with her about having a scar and talking about how to look after it too. It has been so good for her to have a dolly to play with that looks like her and has encouraged lots of lovely role play!
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
