Meet Roald Dahl Nurse Kathryn

Roald Dahl Nurses are established by Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity to care for children living with some of the most complex medical conditions in the UK. The dedication and expertise of specialist nurses reduce A&E visits, hospital admissions and consultant appointments, easing pressure on the NHS. Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s charity is committed to establishing more Roald Dahl Nurses like Kathryn to support more children across the UK. Find out more about our latest campaign to Fund a Roald Dahl Nurse today.

Meet Roald Dahl Nurse Kathryn "As part of the Roald Dahl Nurse community, the support services we can now offer families are amazing; the families we care for have absolutely benefited from it. Sometimes it’s the little things, like the medication cases provided by Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity for example. Parents are really grateful for the charity's Marvellous Family Support Service, and this has helped some of them with applications for blue badges and disability allowance.  Our parents have also taken part in the courses and workshops run by the charity, which are always really helpful. I’ve always believed that epilepsy should be treated holistically, so it’s a real benefit for the families. I feel that my journey through nursing has given me beautifully well-rounded experience as a healthcare provider. Working in acute services, you get to see all sides of epilepsy, the young children who grow out of it and those on long-term journeys. We try to pop in and be a friendly face, sit with them and listen, and work with the professionals around them to make it easier.  Supporting the parents is important too. Sometimes it’s about giving the parents permission to take time for themselves and to have a life with their children.  It’s not all about the epilepsy, life is for living, so you can’t keep them in a bubble, it’s about minimising risk. Parents often don’t want to be any trouble and I always try to convince them they deserve support and care for themselves. As my confidence has grown throughout my career, I’ve now joined the Epilepsy Nurse Association Executive Committee, working with lots of other bodies like Epilepsy Action, NICE and NHS England to promote best care in epilepsy and to provide another perspective that isn’t doctor-led. I see it as an opportunity to make a wider impact. I’ve also been working with three other epilepsy nurses to create a paediatric fast facts book for epilepsy which will hopefully be published very soon.”

Meet Harry and his mum Liz who are supported by Kathryn Liz says, “My son Harry was diagnosed with epilepsy in November 2020. This was an exceptionally difficult time for Harry and us as a family. Our consultant, was our initial point of contact and through her, we were assigned Kathryn as Harry’s Roald Dahl Epilepsy Nurse Specialist. Despite the numerous challenges Harry has faced since his diagnosis, Kathryn has been there for him and us as a family whenever needed. She has always gone over and above the call of duty to ensure all of his needs are met, both at home, school and in his day-to-day life. There genuinely are no words to express our gratitude for such a caring person whom I have had to contact on numerous occasions, even whilst on holiday, and has always been there to help and provide support and reassurance whenever needed. She has given Harry the confidence to continue his life as best as he possibly can and given me the tools to manage the situation. Thank you, Kathryn for everything that you have done and continue to do. We are truly blessed to have your unconditional support which is priceless to us.” Fund a Roald Dahl Nurse today.