Katie’s Story
Meet 16-year-old Katie!
Katie has a condition called Postprandial hyperinsulinemia hypoglycaemia which is a condition where her body does not know when to switch off its own insulin supply and does not metabolise any foods so Katie has to eat every two hours. Katie has been attending Great Ormond Street Hospital since she was three years old and still attends now. In the early days of diagnosis Katie had numerous hospital admissions but over the years these have decreased. Despite missing so much school over the years Katie managed to pass ten good grade GCSEs.
Katie loves movies and spending time with her older brother and sister. She enjoys watching football, going to the cinema with her elder sister Rebecca or to watch a musical in London. She adores animals and has a rabbit and a dog called Poppy.
Katie’s Box4Kids Story
On 11th January 2020 Katie, mum Lesley, stepdad Howard and older brother Craig were invited to enjoy a VIP experience at St Andrew’s Stadium in Birmingham to watch the game between Coventry City and MK Dons. Katie’s mum had first heard about Box4Kids through The Children’s Hyperinsulinism Charity they are members of. Sarah Dearman who is the Chairman at the charity nominated Katie to watch a Coventry City game as she knew how much she enjoys watching football.
‘The Box4Kids event made Katie feel normal and special’, said mum Lesley. ‘It was something she would not normally have been able to do. Our host Rebecca was amazing and getting to meet two Coventry City players was great and they posed for photos with us.’
Coventry City FC are one of our top box donators, as they very kindly provide an executive box for Box4Kids for every weekend home fixture. This is partnered with the generous catering donation by St Andrew’s Stadium. We always try our best to make a Box4Kids event as special as possible with exclusive extras such as meeting players and goodie bags. It certainly helps to make the day even more memorable.
Katie added, ‘Thank you for my Box4Kids experience, I had an amazing day organised by an amazing team. It made me forget my disability.’
We are very lucky to have box donators like Coventry City and St Andrew’s Stadium, as it provides us with plenty of opportunities to invite seriously ill and disabled children to enjoy VIP days out. If you are a box holder and your box is not being utilised for a particular fixture or event, then please consider donating it to the Trust. That way we can continue to support more deserving children like Katie.
