Christmas – it’s a time to rejoice and give thanks for life’s small miracles, but what if your little one’s special day involves a mercy dash to or a prolonged stay in hospital.

For the Port Macquarie Base Hospital’s Paediatric Unit a Christmas admission can take many a family by surprise.

Sovereign Hills, on behalf of the Lewis Foundation, was honoured to present the hospital with a special toy donation to help deliver a dose of Christmas cheer.

“It definitely provides a lot of joy and brings the Christmas spirit into the paediatric unit when they’re feeling sick or not themselves,” explained Acting Nurse Unit Manager Nicole Leith. “And they’re not missing out which is always a risk when a family is not prepared for a sudden admission.”

And just like at home, the unit has traditions in place to inject some magic into their day.

“If you’re on night duty you get the Christmas presents out and you put them at their bedside in preparation for the children on Christmas morning. Any child who comes in during the day and around the Christmas period will receive a gift as well.”

Lewis Land Group Chief Executive Officer Chris Calvert hopes the toys, featuring everything from books to Barbies and dress-up costumes to Duplo, will bring some joy to the children spending time in hospital over the Christmas period.

“We also wish the hardworking staff, whose amazing work does not stop over the holidays, a very Merry Christmas,” Mr Calvert said.

“We always have a full complement of staff here and that means six families are without a family member on any Christmas or New Year’s Day,” shared Ms Leith, “And a lot of our staff have young children.”

The Port Macquarie Base Hospital is a major referral hospital for the Hastings Macleay network.

“But we’re prepared because of the generous donations we receive for the children,” she smiled.

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