Being a Breathe young magician doesn’t end with the bow in the final show during camp week. We always try and stay in touch with the families and when we can we give our young magicians the chance to contribute to other projects. Misui and Arun, two Breathe Magic graduates, have now stepped up to very different kinds of challenges: Influencing policy at the House of Commons and showing NHS executives at the Chief Allied Health Professionals events what Therapy can achieve.
What is possible when you think outside the box? We explored this question at our stand at the Chief Allied Health Professionals event in June which more than 400 senior leaders and those from a multitude of professional backgrounds were attending. Under the motto “AHP Innovation Delivering #FutureNHS” Breathe sought conversations about how the future of healthcare could be shaped by investment into the arts and creative commissioning.
Innovation was a word that hung in the air everywhere you turned during the day and we were very glad that young magician Arun (9) had agreed to show the attendants of the event what innovation put into practice can look like. While Arun performed magic tricks to interested NHS Executives throughout the day, his mother Anita Chad-Patel gave an insight into the changes she has seen after the programme. We are proud to see Arun and his family growing into ambassadors for Breathe and for representing and speaking out for the interests of young people with hemiplegia in front of a wider audience.
Arun is not the only one who stepped up and decided to show decision makers in the health world how innovative interventions can impact positively on young people’s lives.
Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), a charity which challenges perceptions of what deaf children can achieve with the right support at an early age, had organised the event “House of Commons for the Power of Speech”. And among MPs, hearing experts and other VIPs there was Misui alongside other graduate of the AVUK programme presenting on their favourite topics and demonstrating how intensive programmes can change young lives for the better.
Although Misui’s mum was perhaps initially a little concerned that it all might be a much for him, she needn’t have worried. Misui prepared and rehearsed his speech, so as to present in a playful and entertaining way – using the Muppets to help him to tell his story! Then when the big day came, he performed it brilliantly, improvising funny dialogues with Kermit the Frog as he went! He was not fazed by the venue nor the audience, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. About his presentation skills he said: “At the Magic Camp I learned that I enjoyed performing for people I didn’t know before. I’m not afraid of a large audience and I just knew that I could do it. At the House of Commons it was great to listen to all the other speakers. We were all different, doing our own things. I was just confident, being myself!”
We couldn’t be more proud of Arun and Misui and all that they have continued to achieve since completing the Breathe Magic programme. We are very impressed by the confidence they now have at the heart of all they do and we cannot wait to see our current young magicians rise to the challenges that face them in the future.