Charlie Braveheart Foundation believes in the importance of reducing stress and pain during hospital treatments for children. Thereby diminishing traumatic experiences.

Charlie Braveheart Foundation

‘Charlie Braveheart’ Foundation aims to make the unbearable more bearable. Hospital treatments for children ranging from First Aid Posts to Orthopaedics, Burns Units, Rheumatology, ENT and Oncology can be a traumatic experience.

Our mission is to train medical and nursing professionals to help alleviate childrens’ suffering by being able to apply the following Tools from the Tool Kit:

  1. Focus language
  2. Hypnosis
  3. Music
  4. Sedation by laughing gas
  5. Technology

Partners

Training Programme

Charlie Braveheart Foundation strives to train 500 healthcare professionals in 80 Dutch hospitals annually and ultimately to familiarise a minimum of 2,500 people with these effective Tools within 5 years.

A knowledge platform is being developed where research and knowledge is being shared for educational purposes hereby improving a child focussed approach in the healthcare system.

In the summer of 2019 an educational program is succesfully carried out. In this program people from 10 various hospitals in Holland an Belgium have been trained. In 2020 this program will find its continuation.

 

Our goal is to create and ensure as many stress and pain free hospital experiences as possible for children forced to endure these or similar traumatic treatments.

The scope ranges from First Aid Posts to Orthopaedics, Burns Units, Rheumatology, ENT specialists and Oncology.

Charlie Braveheart

5-year old Charlie’s life, and the lives of all of her family, suffered a horrendous and devastating change on May 10th 2017.

She was diagnosed, that day, with Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Intensive chemotherapy began immediately at the Emma Children’s Hospital at the AMC (Amsterdam) under the inspired guidance of paediatric oncologist Dr. Marianne van der Wetering and her team.

Three weeks later a further setback occurred when Charlie was confronted with her first set of complications. The cocktail of medications to suppress side effects and symptoms would often made her feel worse than the leukemia itself.

The resilience that a young child shows in such extreme circumstances is extraordinary and almost beyond belief. The family and medical specialists do their utmost to minimise trauma, as far as possible, throughout.

Pain and stress control

The acute shortage of adequate remedies treating pain and stress prevention soon however became painfully apparent.

The taking of blood samples, introducing an intravenous drip needle, placing a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC), inserting a tube, or fixing a port-a-cath suddenly become a terrifying and excrutiating part of daily reality.

These painful but moreover frightening experiences can scar a child’s spirit forever.

Charlie’s situation, sadly, is not unique. Far too many children are having to cope today with similarly grim tortures.

Charlie’s parents and grandparents felt compelled to set up the ‘Charlie Braveheart’ Foundation in order to “make the unbearable somewhat more bearable” for all of these children.

Fund raising & Ambassadors

You can support this initiative by becoming a donor for 5 years.

The foundation has been granted the ANBI status, which means it is qualified as a Public Benefit Organisation and your donation will be tax-deductible when paying income tax in The Netherlands.

The fundraising will be done through Ambassadors, who will organise an event where both a professional and a ‘hands on’ expert will speak on the subject of “What you must know if your child or grandchild is suddenly faced with a lengthy stay in hospital”.

Donate now