25 Years of Impact: Johanna's Story
Thanks to supporters like you, Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity has been able to invest more than £53 million to support babies and children in hospital. We're asking you to be part of what comes next.
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Reflecting on 25 Years: Johanna's Story
Johanna shares her childhood experience of kidney disease at Yorkhill Hospital in the 1990's and reflects on how Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity has transformed support for young patients.
Dear Supporter,
When I think back to being a child in Yorkhill Hospital in the 1990s, my first memories are of how big everything felt. The beds seemed impossibly high, and the days on the ward felt endless.
My name is Johanna. I was just three years old when I became seriously ill with kidney disease and within weeks, I was on dialysis. What followed wasn’t just days or weeks in hospital. It was years. Years of treatment, operations, and waiting.
The medical care I received was exceptional. I will always be grateful for it but being in hospital for so long as a young child was incredibly difficult. Those experiences have stayed with me throughout my life. At that time, much of the support families rely on today simply didn’t exist.
For the past 25 years, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity has been transforming the hospital experience for children and families in Glasgow and across Scotland. Thanks to people like you, more than £53 million has been invested in care that goes far beyond medicine.
Your generosity means children aren’t just existing in hospital. They’re living. Your kindness doesn’t just help in the moment. It shapes how a child copes, how they recover, and how they carry those experiences with them into the future.
Kidney disease is still part of my life today. I know first-hand that for many children, hospital isn’t a one-time experience. The need for ongoing support is just as important now as it was 25 years ago.
Right now, children are still arriving in hospital for the first time. They still face long stays, complex conditions, and uncertain futures.
They still need you.
As Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity marks its 25th anniversary, I’m asking you to be part of what comes next. What you give today could shape a child’s entire life.
With gratitude,
Johanna