Leeds dad sends 3,000 special teddies to poorly children
The teddies have all undergone the same medical procedure as their owner - so the child has a friend like them
Last updated 20th Apr 2023
A Leeds dad who makes special teddies for poorly children is telling us how he's now sent more than 3,000 toys all over the world.
Nick Hardman runs the 3D Toy Shop from his home in Morley, where he creates teddies with everything from tiny hearing aids and stoma bags to brain implants and heart surgery. Whatever medical procedure a child needs, Nick makes a toy to match.
“It gives them a friend like them,” he says.
“They’re not alone. A lot of these kids have never met anybody that’s got the same implants, or who’ve had the same procedures.”
It also gives the child a way to help explain their medical issue to others, by using the bear as a visual way of showing what their procedure involves. For example Nick’s starting to make bears that come with pillows for children who have seizures, to help anybody who cares for that child understand that they also should have a pillow nearby.
The toys are also used in hospitals to help staff explain different procedures to a child and make them seem less scary.
“I make teddies with berlin hearts for the children who’ve got external hearts, and when the doctors shine the torches on the hearts to inspect the fittings, it frightens the children,” says Nick.
“Great Ormond Street said that when the doctors inspect the teddy’s berlin heart, the child becomes more familiar with the process and is less afraid when the doctors do it to the child.”
The toys are also now going to be used by play therapists in hospitals who help prepare children for medical procedures. Because teddies can’t be properly sterilised, Nick has spent the last few months redesigning everything to fit on dolls instead, so that hospital wards can use them to help thousands of children.
Nick started out making three teddies a week around his day job in 2021, but over the last two years the project has spiralled. He now has a group of six volunteers who come to his house to help sew, and he’s got 750 children on the waiting list for a teddy.
“That breaks my heart, because some of them are really poorly,” he says.
“Like this week we got a message from a child who sadly passed away whilst waiting for a teddy, and there’s nothing I can do about that. That’s why I want to do it full time.”
He asks for a payment of £20 for a teddy and families can let him know whether or not they are able to afford it. For those who can’t afford it, he has a crowdfunding scheme where people can sponsor a teddy.