“I Love Coming to the Hospital Now”: Kimberley’s Story
Going to hospital isn’t supposed to be something a child looks forward to. But for 10-year-old Kimberley, something has changed.
Kimberley comes to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital regularly for blood transfusions — a procedure that, for any child, can feel daunting, uncomfortable and frightening. The waiting. The needles. The time sitting still while the treatment slowly does its work. It’s a lot to ask of any young person.
But now, when Kimberley arrives on the Children’s Unit, there’s something waiting for her: a RockinR Medical Gaming Trolley, loaded with the latest Nintendo Switch games, ready to play.
“She just lights up,” says Kimberley’s mum. “The moment she sees it, everything changes.”
While her treatment takes place, Kimberley games. She explores new worlds, takes on challenges, achieves things. For the time she is playing, she is not a child in hospital — she is just a child, doing what children do. Her mum has watched the transformation with relief and gratitude, describing the cart as “an amazing piece of equipment” that has made their hospital visits immeasurably easier.
“I love coming and playing on the Switch,” Kimberley says, simply.
The Gaming Trolleys and two iPads were funded thanks to the generous support of Vinci Building, who raised £8,537 at our 2025 Shimmer Ball. Since the carts arrived on the ward in March 2026, around 360 children like Kimberley are benefiting every year — children who face blood transfusions, infusions, tests and procedures that ask a great deal of them.
For Kimberley’s mum, the impact is personal and profound. Hospital visits that were once filled with anxiety and discomfort are now, thanks to the RockinR trolley, something her daughter actively enjoys.
