A four-year-old stuck in hospital at the RVI due to complications getting his tonsils out had a special treat last week - he got to see a screening of the new Buzz Lightyear movie before it hit cinemas.
Kyle Whitehead had been forced to travel to Newcastle from his Carlisle home for specialist care and a difficult procedure meant he needed an extra night stay on the wards. Luckily for him and mum Jenna Spark, he was invited to a very special film screening at the RVI MediCinema.
MediCinema is a charity which runs high-end cinemas for young patients in six hospitals around the UK, including the RVI. Its programme is now backed by extra funding from the Newcastle Hospitals Charity. And to mark the this, a special screening of Lightyear was held. Disney even provided special gift bags and there was a balloon entertainer.
Kyle, four, was lucky enough to attend. He said he had had a "brilliant time". "It was so good," he said. Mum Jenna said it had really helped him to relax after a difficult few days - and he was now a big Buzz Lightyear fan.
She added: "He's had a few ongoing issues and had to get his tonsils out. So he had to stay in hospital another night and the cinema was a really welcome treat. It kept him occupied and is a nice thing for him to look back on, especially as it's been a little traumatic for him. It was Kyle’s first cinema experience, and he has not stopped talking about it! He has carried his Disney bag and Buzz Lightyear everywhere with him since."
Kyle and the other children at the screening were among the first people in the country to see the new film - two days ahead of its general release, and got a special gift bag too.
A grant of more than £128,000 from Newcastle Hospitals Charity will help the MediCinema over the next three years and means it will be able to put on an extra film each week - meaning it will now show four. Paul Giggal, the MediCinema chief operating officer said of the special screening that he "could not think of a better way to start our new partnership".
"We know how much of a positive impact it has for the patients to be able to safely leave the wards and watch a movie together with their loved ones," he said. "It brings a lot of joy and relief to patients, and we are so grateful to the Charity for committing to this three-year funding support and are incredibly proud to be working together."
Jon Goodwin, head of grant programmes at Newcastle Hospitals Charity said: "We know just how valuable the MediCinema is to our patients, and we were delighted to be able to offer our support to this excellent facility."
At times during the pandemic, with strict restrictions in place and most cinemas closed, the MediCinema at the RVI was the only operating cinema in the country. The advanced screening came about thanks to the help of Disney themselves, which has long-supported MediCinema.
READ NEXT:
- List of UK areas with new suspected monkeypox cases - including one in South Tyneside
'Victorian diseases' like gout, tuberculosis and measles are at 5-year high in the North East
Cases of covid-19 rising across all four UK nations as experts blame Omicron variants
South Shields friends who both lost husbands to cancer raise more than £35,000 for charity
The 26 GPs' practices in the North East rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission
