A Haugh of Urr youngster who has been battling cancer was given the chance to see behind the scenes of the medical laboratories that diagnosed his illness.
Cupar Rush was shown around the blood sciences laboratory at DGRI as part of a visit organised by NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the charity Harvey’s Gang.
The six-year-old finished his treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in October and the visit was a chance to meet specialist biomedical scientist Keith Middlemiss who was part of the team in the lab that diagnosed Cupar’s condition.
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Specialist biomedical scientist Sue Jeffrey also helped and they were joined by paediatric ward staff nurse Sharron McGarva, the paediatric lead for Harvey’s Gang.
Also on the tour were Cupar’s sister, eight-year-old Ailsa, and parents Paul and Tracey.
Specialist biomedical scientist Gayle Johnstone said: “We were really thrilled to welcome six-year-old Cupar Rush and his eight-year-old sister Ailsa as the first visitors into our laboratory thanks to Harvey’s Gang.
“Cupar has spent time in DGRI in the past and had a good understanding of the work which takes place in a hospital.
“However, you don’t really get to see what happens when samples are taken for testing, so this initiative is an excellent way to demystify that process and introduce all the people busy working away behind-the-scenes to help people who aren’t well.”
Cupar and Ailsa were presented with special white lab coats sponsored by the Institute of Biomedical Science.
They got to play I-Spy around the lab, send Harvey the penguin – named by Cupar – in the pod to paediatrics and wait for a reply, look down the microscope at blood films and draw what they saw, try a colour reaction experiment and handle real blood and platelet bags.
The day was rounded off by a presentation of certificates, which saw Cupar and Ailsa officially become honorary biomedical scientists. They also received a goodie bag, sponsored by ortho Clinical Diagnostics, with items including a lanyard, coloured pencils, red leather journal, large red blood cell and many activities to do at home, compiled by Gayle Johnstone.
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Harvey’s Gang was set up by Worthing Hospital’s chief biomedical scientist Malcolm Robinson in memory of a boy called Harvey Buster Baldwin who had leukaemia and wanted to know where his blood samples went and what happened to them.
Malcolm arranged for Harvey to come to the pathology labs for a tour and answer all his questions.
The visit was so successful that in his memory Harvey’s Gang was set up and has been expanded to 47 sites across the globe, including DGRI.
Gayle Johnstone added: “It was such a fun time for Cupar and Ailsa and our teams really enjoyed meeting them, answering their questions and explaining our work.
