A five-year-old Logan Village boy has returned to Logan Hospital just two months after finishing his cancer treatment to help other children going through chemotherapy.
It was a full circle moment for Ash Saunders and his mum Nataasha Timmerman.
But this time they were at the hospital on a different mission: to help sick, vulnerable children feel a little bit braver and more comfortable.
Recently, the pair became ambassadors for Supertee, a medical garment specially designed for children constantly undergoing treatment.
“Ash went through a lot of procedures that were extremely painful for him… so he would cry a lot,” Ms Timmerman said.
“He had a port in his stomach, which they inserted not long after he was diagnosed because they need to access that all the time for chemo.
“So every time the nurse would pull up his t-shirt he would scream because there was pain associated with that.”
She said that’s where the Supertee came in.
The gowns open under the arms for easy thermometer access and have evenly placed press studs that can be opened around tubes and lines, meaning they can be taken off and changed without becoming tangled.
They are also suitable for PET scan and MRIs.
“It changed things, because the nurses could just unclip a little button on the side and do what they needed to do without him having that automatic reaction,” she said.
“As soon as Ash put on his first Supertee, his confidence grew, and he was better able to tolerate his treatments.
“The shirts have a lovely way of making kids feel special and brave, and I love that they can wear them in for their surgical procedures rather than a plain hospital gown.”
Dressed in his space commander Supertee, Ash recently handed out 100 garments at Logan Hospital’s paediatric ward.
The idea for the kid-friendly garment came from former tradie Jason Sotiris, who saw the need for it after his own daughter was in hospital with a rare form of cancer.
“When my daughter Angela was sick with cancer, I felt helpless not being able to do the simple task of putting clean clothes on her with IV drips, chest monitor cables and central lines making it impossible. I knew there had to be a better way,” he said.
“We all know that feeling we get when we dress nicely, we’re trying to give sick children that feeling when they are facing serious health battles and hopefully boost their morale and encourage some imaginative play at the same time.
Mr Sotiris’s goal for 2024 is to donate 16,000 Supertees to sick children across Australia.
So far, he has reached 8000.
