How play helped girl with arthritis to laugh again

"Am I not going to be my normal self again... am I not going to be able to play with my friends?"

Ten-year-old Sfiyah was a confident and active child who loved football, rugby and hiking, but her life was turned upside down around Christmas 2021.

Her joints began to swell and after months of GP and hospital appointments she was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) - a debilitating condition that limits her ability to walk.

Sfiyah's mood began to plummet during a long spell in hospital, until a nurse introduced her to John, a health play specialist from the Grange University Hospital.

Starlight advocates for children's play in hospitals through play boxes and therapists.

Sfiyah's mother, Parvina, said John had helped support her through her condition.

"She started giggling because he made a makeshift chicken out of glove and he peeked the glove around the door," she said.

"Sfiyah took one look and started laughing. It was just fantastic because I hadn't seen her laugh in months."

Sfiyah was diagnosed with two types of JIA - oligo articular JIA and enthestitis-related arthritis.

According to the NHS, oligo-articular JIA is the most common type of the condition and it affects up to four joints in the body.

The family, from Newport, were shocked to hear about the diagnosis.

"Sfiyah's morale just dipped. She went from an active child to not being able to do much," Parvina said.

"As a family we had to change our lifestyle and completely revaluate everything so we could properly support her.

Sfiyah said one of the hardest things was "being surrounded with a condition in your body and people not understanding".

"Being a girl, who is about to go to high school, it was genuinely really hard to try and express to people how it felt."

Sfiyah started to regularly visit the hospital for injections, which made her immunosuppressed.

A few months after her diagnosis, she was admitted to hospital with chicken pox and a chest infection.

"We were warned that because of the injections, catching chicken pox can be quite dangerous," Parvina said.

"We were petrified as what was going to happen."

But meeting John has changed all of that.

"When Sfiyah had any concerns or anxiety about her condition or treatments, John was there to help and answer her questions," she said.

"He completely brought her anxiety levels down.

"It's really helped with Sfiyah's mental wellbeing and it allowed her to be a child again."

More than two years on, Sfiyah still struggles but her condition is under control.

She and her family keep in touch with John and Parvina said she cannot thank him or Starlight enough.

"The nurses and medication were great but she was just missing that one little magical ingredient," she said.

Sfiyah has been chosen as an ambassador for the charity and hopes she can raise more awareness of her condition.

John said he and Sfiyah "therapeutic alliance".

"Being in hospital can be a very difficult experience for children and young people, and therapeutic play can make it a lot easier for them," he said.

"I am happy that the support I have provided has been beneficial to them.”