Children, families, and staff at ĢtvƵ Children’s Hospital received a special surprise yesterday when the Aston Martin Formula One® Team made a pitstop outside the main entrance with their replica race car.
Aston Martin Aramco reached out to ĢtvƵ Hospitals Charity to bring the car to hospital, as part of their nationwide community outreach programme, where the car and team will visit five hospitals up and down the country.
Alongside the chance to see the life-size Aston Martin Aramco replica car, patients also had the opportunity to meet Jak Crawford, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team Young Development Driver.
Jak told us why he wanted to visit the hospital and spread some joy to patients:
“Today was another special day as we visited the ĢtvƵ Children’s Hospital as part of Aston Martin Aramco’s Make a Mark initiative. Meeting young patients and their families along with NHS staff felt like a privilege, and I loved bringing part of our team to them to try and put a smile on their faces. I hope we have had as much of an impact on the children as they did for us –
they were so positive and enthusiastic. Thank you to the NHS staff for all the work you do to care for the patients, you are an inspiration.”
Every young patient also received some Aston Martin goodies and had the chance to take part in a coloring competition to design a new helmet. The top three winning designs will be entered into the competition final, where the winners from all five hospitals will go head-to-head to win the top prize.
The designs will be judged by the Aston Martin Performance Group CEO, Andy Cowell, and the winning design will be made into a replica helmet which will be gifted to the hospital and can be auctioned off to raise funds.
Some of the hospital’s most seriously ill children weren’t well enough to come down and see the race car, so Jak visited some of the wards, where he met racing car fans like five-year-old Theo from York who is receiving treatment for a ruptured appendix.
Theo’s Mum Dani said:
‘It was really lovely to have something for Theo to be excited about when he’s not feeling too well. It’s something different and we’d never have had this opportunity at homeTheo’s dad loves Formula One, so this visit was great for parents as well. Thank you Aston Martin Aramco for cheering us up today!’
The Play Team at ĢtvƵ Children’s Hospital, go above and beyond to make the hospital experience the best it can possibly be, and are hugely grateful to give young patients the chance to get involved in exciting visits like this.
Lisa Beaumont, Specialised Therapeutic Play Manager at ĢtvƵ Children’s Hospital said:
“Our team are there for every sick child in hospital and do all we can to help support their often long and difficult journey while also bringing some fun and laughter along the way. It’s thanks to the kindness of organisations like Aston Martin Aramco that we can make these truly special moments happen, creating everlasting memories for children in hospital.”