Meet the hero grannies volunteering to cuddle sick children

We imagine it would take a very special sort of person to work in a children’s hospital, especially when that person is of retired age and a volunteer.

Sick children are often in hospital for long periods of time and as it's not always possible for families to be in the hospital at all times, a 'ward granny' provides much needed ‘surrogate’ care.

Part of an Australian Scheme, a Hospital Ward Grandparent is a saving grace for parents of sick children for many reasons. When a family is assigned a ward granny, in essence they are being given a person who is devoted to caring for them and their child. Practically, they step in when the parents need a break or a breather and emotionally, they offer affection and support.

For the past seven years 70 year old Margaret Candy has been working voluntarily as a ‘ward granny’ at Australia’s Sydney Children’s Hospital.

“My daughter thought I would be too soft but I told her I could handle it,” Margaret told kidspot.com.au. “I’ve been doing it for seven years now and I just love it.”

A huge part of Margaret’s job is to cuddle the children and provide them with affection. A recent study commissioned by Huggies found that 99% of Australian midwives and nurses agreed that hugs and affection are a vital part of the healing process for sick children, and the Head of Child Life Therapy at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Janet Burke, has backed the findings.

“A child develops over 80 percent of their brain capacity in the first four years, and during this crucial period physical touch is fundamental,” Janet explained to kidspot.com.au. “Hugs help children in their attachment with their parent or care giver, reduce heart rates and blood pressure, increase immunity, and just generally make feel them better,”

We are beyond amazed at the work ward grannies like Margaret do and have no doubt their cuddles have special healing powers. They are true heroes as far as we're concerned.