About us Latest News Jacob's Story | The Play Team at Leeds Children's Hospital Jacob was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in November 2019 when he was just six years old. Now ten, Jacob is really active and loves playing football however his condition can cause him to struggle with stomach pain, going to the toilet (this can take a while) and makes him very tired. If he is going through a flare up it can be very debilitating for him. To help manage his symptoms Jacob currently takes a 50mg Azathioprine tablet every morning and needs an intravenous Infliximab infusion which is given to him in hospital every four weeks. For each monthly appointment Jacob and his family make the 100-mile round trip to the Leeds Children’s Hospital which means he sometimes misses out on activities and special events, “I feel fine about coming into hospital so much as long as I'm not missing anything exciting at school. I missed World Book Day one time. My class did a zoom meeting with me at hospital so I could be involved, but I really would have liked to have been there.” Read more: Meet our patients - The Play Team at Leeds Children's Hospital On arrival at the day patient ward Jacob needs to be canulated which can sometimes be an uncomfortable procedure so it’s at this point that Jacob now uses the VR headset to distract him. He then has his infusion which takes about an hour to complete. Jacob is currently top of the leaderboard and looks forward to keeping his high score at each appointment! “Having the VR headset at my appointments was a nice surprise, I didn’t expect it. I have definitely felt less anxious since being able to use it.” Read more: Meet our Play Team Jacob’s dad Brendon says, “As far as we are aware Jacob will need to have the infusions on a regular basis and there is currently no end date to this. IBD is incurable. He is always brave and never complains - we are so proud of him given everything he has gone through. The VR headset has been fantastic and helped turn what could have been an unpleasant experience into something Jacob now looks forward to. We are so grateful to Leeds Hospitals Charity for helping to provide this equipment for Jacob and so many other children who will also benefit from it. It has helped Jacob feel much more comfortable during his visits.” “Thank you and please continue to support things like this within Leeds Children’s Hospital as it's so important to help the children feel special and comfortable in what can be very challenging circumstances.” Because of Play... Thanks to your donations, the Play Team are available seven days a week across Leeds Children’s Hospital. Our Play Leaders and Play Specialists do an incredible job, supporting seriously ill children throughout the most difficult time of their young lives. But this can only continue with your support. It costs £106 a day to fund a play team member. Together, we can deliver play to every child in hospital who needs it. Donate Today Manage Cookie Preferences