Charlotte’s Recovery Story: Finding Hope Beyond the Hospital Ward

We knew that Charlotte’s surgery had to happen, for a better quality of life, but going through it was still horrendous. The operation to disconnect the two halves of her brain was a very long one, she went into theatre at 9am and didn’t come out till 5pm that evening. It was a horribly long wait.  

The cinema staff came to talk to us about the opening of the new MediCinema when Charlotte was still poorly. Charlotte doesn’t talk much, and her comprehension is less than her 10 years, but she understands, and her little face lit up when the cinema was mentioned. I was worried she might not be able to come along to watch the film, but they said it wasn’t a problem as there was a designated space in the cinema just for hospital beds.  

It had been a tough time for us so the thought of going to the movies, was just the perfect escape.  Explaining to a child living with learning disabilities that they need to have surgery, isn’t an easy thing to do. Then in the recovery phase you must try to make her rest, keep still, and mostly lie down – but that involves Charlotte just staring at the same spot on the ceiling.  

They even gave Charlotte a little ticket, she could barely contain her excitement until the cinema opening day arrived.  Charlotte’s high point was meeting Mickey and Minnie, and being given a ‘King George’ beaver toy, that sings when you press a button on his hand (he’s still going strong and is now a big part of her everyday physio routine at home). 

She loved the film ‘Hoppers’ so much that she watched the whole thing, I even got into the bed and watched it with her. She often talks about this day, not the surgery or anything else that happened in the hospital, we made some core memories thanks to MediCinema.

The staff and volunteers were all brilliant. Charlotte had a central line in her neck, so I was a bit nervous, but the MediCinema nurses came and spoke to us beforehand and said that they would be watching us the whole time the movie was on. We’d come from the High Dependency Unit, so it was so good to know this.  

The day at MediCinema was just perfect for us. It was all so calm, and we felt really well looked after. My husband and I later commented that getting away from the ward and entering this magical space, with its brightly coloured décor, was just wonderful – the whole set up is just wow!

Charlotte is recovering well from her operation and is receiving physio to establish new pathways in the right side of her brain which help with function, speech and language. She is up and walking well on flat surfaces.  She should have been in hospital for a month, but after two weeks, she astounded everyone with her progress and was allowed home.  

The cinema visit was such perfect timing for us, and I’m sure it played a part in Charlotte’s recovery. It reminded her what she was missing out on, I think she thought – ‘I don’t have to stay in here’. The next day she was so happy, she had so much energy and was up and walking about. By the following week she was allowed to go home.