Paul O'Grady's Little Heroes: Episode two

In episode two, Paul meets 16-year-old Sarah, who was diagnosed with conical kidney disease three years ago, which means her kidneys don’t work properly.

Paul pays a visit to Elephant Ward to see Lily (8), who’s being treated for a rare form of leukaemia, and also gets to meet Louis (15), who has a complex form of epilepsy.

Finally, Paul meets GOSH nurse, Ruth, whose 14-week-old baby boy, Ezra, has a rare condition affecting the food and windpipe.

Ezra arrived at GOSH at just 14 weeks old. His mum, Ruth, is a nurse on Kingfisher Ward at the hospital and didn’t expect to return back to GOSH during her maternity leave.

"It was a really scary time for us all because he was so little,” recalls Ruth. “We were told he would need surgery to close the hole so he could feed and breathe properly. It meant that he had a feeding tube for the first few months of his life – as a first-time mum, I found this really hard, but the team at GOSH were phenomenal.”

Read Ezra's story

“The chemotherapy led to Lily’s long blonde hair falling out, but it has started to grow back now, and it’s quite dark and fuzzy. She looks like a little gosling, but she looks absolutely gorgeous with her little crop. I think that’s helped her a lot towards the end of her treatment,” said Lily's mum, Sam.

Eight-year-old Lily, who stars in episode two of Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes, is treated at GOSH for a type of cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia.

Visit the charity site to read more about Lily and find out how the charity supports the hospital

“After I have a seizure it feels like I have a very bad headache, I normally feel like I’m going to throw-up but I rarely do, I forget things more easily,” explains Louis.

Louis has been having seizures since he was 12 years old. Now 15, Louis is undergoing tests at GOSH to determine the cause of his seizures. He has coped amazingly well with having epilepsy. The seizures are very unpredictable, but he’s determined to go out and enjoy himself with his friends and not let the epilepsy dominate his life.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah was diagnosed with conical kidney disease three years ago, which means her kidneys don’t work properly. She has one kidney which is very small and the other very large and is currently on the transplant waiting list. She is treated on Eagle Ward at GOSH for her condition.

Sarah makes the 100-mile round trip from Milton Keynes to GOSH three times a week to undergo kidney dialysis treatment where each session can last up to four hours.

Dialysis provides life-saving treatment, replacing the work that is normally done by the kidneys.

"Programmes like Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes are important because they allow patients and families to share their incredible stories with the general public, and help showcase the amazing work that goes on at GOSH every day."

Kate Cross has worked at GOSH for nine years and has a special interest in neuroblastoma surgery. In this video, Kate explains why she enjoys working at GOSH with patients and their families.

Watch Kate's video