A new book is helping children make sense of heart transplants.
NHS Golden Jubilee has created Big Moo’s New Heart, a resource for children whose loved ones are undergoing heart transplants in Scotland.
Developed by staff from the Scottish National Advanced Heart Failure Service, based at the Clydebank hospital, the book is designed to explain the process through child-friendly language, illustrations and interactive activities.
Frances Gallacher, transplant coordinator, said: “We know from experience that going through the transplant journey affects the whole family and friends, and one of the hardest questions we hear is, ‘How do I tell my kids?’
“As the only Scottish heart transplant centre, we asked for a bespoke book for here and we are delighted with what they’ve created.
“Our transplant coordinators and nurses got together to come up with the details and ideas for the work we do here, as well as what’s on site – the surrounding area like the River Clyde and the Titan Crane.
“This book helps families explain what’s happening in a way that’s reassuring and easy to understand.”
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For NHS Golden Jubilee patient John McCormick, 43, from Lenzie, and his family, the book proved a massive help as he faced the prospect of a heart transplant.
The father-of-three underwent five operations within five weeks before discovering that a heart transplant was the only thing that would save his life.
John said: “It was really quite a shock at first as I’ve never been ill before up until this year and I just thought I had a cold that I couldn’t shake off, so to go from that to needing a heart transplant was a bit difficult to take in.
“We requested information on the heart transplant process at the start with the coordinators and the kids because we wanted them to hear it from someone who wasn’t their parents.
“We wanted to make sure they weren’t left in the dark and prevent their minds from wandering and that’s when we were introduced to one of the books, which really explained things in simple terms for them.
“It was extremely helpful and alleviated a lot of the kids’ concerns.
“Everything else went very well and I had a great team around me at the Golden Jubilee. It’s all been going great since then as well, thankfully, and my new heart is doing fantastic.”
John’s daughter Mila, 11, has been quoted on the book’s cover.
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She said: “The books simplify the heart transplant process, which gave me an understanding of what was going to happen to my dad during and after his operation.”
Big Moo’s New Heart was produced in partnership with charity Get Better Books.
Georgina Potier, who has had three kidney transplants, founded the Get Better Books charity with Jake Abrams, who creates the illustrations.
She said: “I went back to Great Ormond Street, who looked after me as a child, to see how I could help use design to help children understand their treatment journey.
“And what started as one book for kidney transplant patients has exploded and we’re now in 20 hospitals across the UK – we’re really proud to help so many children.
“It’s lovely working with different teams across the country, making it specific for different hospitals and adapting it to their needs, which we’ve done for NHS Golden Jubilee – and we’re really proud of this one, it’s fantastic.”
Jake said: “We wanted to make something fun and interactive that explains the process in a friendly way.
“It’s full of humour, colouring activities and space for questions – all designed to reduce anxiety for children.”
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