Incredible honour for Great Ormond Street Hospital at London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony

Some patients and hospital staff from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) were lucky enough to be involved in the London 2012 Opening Ceremony.  Jane Collins, Chief Executive said:

"We are so grateful to Danny Boyle and his incredible team for inviting the hospital to be involved in the Opening Ceremony for London 2012.

"It is a wonderful honour to be part of such a historic event for London and for the whole of the country. The children, their parents and staff who took part were sworn to secrecy and it’s great that we’re now able to share our excitement with everyone. Thanks again Danny and good luck Team GB."

Nine patients and three members of hospital staff were involved in the opening ceremony.  They were:

Precious Sanusi, 13, from Romford. Precious is a long-term GOSH patient. She has a cranio-facial condition called Crouzon’s Syndrome, which is a condition that affects your bone structure and the way your face grows. Around one in 60,000 people are born with the condition.

Lottie Pink, 10, from Kingston. Lottie was treated for a brain tumour a few years ago when she was 8. She comes to the hospital every three months to have scans.

Cydney Bourne, 12, Stockton On Tees. Cydney has laryngo tracheal reconstruction (LTR) and is now undergoing repeated micro laryngo bronchoscopy (MLB) for Subglottic Stenosis – basically that means she has had lots of surgery on her windpipe as she was born 16 weeks early!

Matthew Panter, 9, Gillingham. Matthew has pulmonary hypertension which led to him having a heart and lung Transplant a few years ago. Matthew visits the hospital regularly for scans and check-ups.

Simeon Lynch-Prime, 10, Palmers Green. Simeon was treated for a brain tumour a few years ago and is now treated at the hospital for eye problems (which were caused by the tumour).

Alex Plank, 11, Beckenham. Alex was diagnosed with a number severe heart defects soon after he was born. His heart had failed to develop properly, and he had large holes in the muscles of the heart. As a result, his heart was unable to pump blood around his body normally.  He has had many operations at the hospital and will have more as he grows.

Alice Gardiner, 10, Huntingdon. Alice has cystic fibrosis and comes to the hospital for two weeks every three months for intensive physio and IV antibiotics.

Mark Matthews, 8, Kilburn. Mark had a kidney transplant at the hospital last year. He comes back regularly for check-ups and scans.

Niamh Bowdler, 12, Hornchurch. Niamh has a very rare bladder and kidney condition. She visits the hospital regularly for procedures.

Sarah Carmichael, is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for Ears Nose and Throat, she was the ward sister on Dinosaur ward. She has been a nurse for over 12 years and has been at GOSH for over 10 years.  Sarah is Cydney’s CNS and so sees her regularly in clinic.

Janet Holmes, is a Play Specialist on the cardiac wards. She has been at GOSH for over 20 years. She helps children cope with their illnesses through play and distraction. She coordinates the GOSH Cardiac team for the transplant games. Janet has worked with Matthew and Alex on the ward.

Lindy May qualified as a nurse in the 1960s and she has worked at GOSH ever since. She is a nurse consultant in the neuro surgery team. She runs clinics but is based on Koala Ward. She was involved in the care of Simeon and Lottie.