Jack goes the extra mile for his cousin Harrison

Harrison Wright from Sheffield is one of the 10,000 children in the UK living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Keeping on top of his condition means that he needs to have daily injections – not something every ten year old looks forward to.

However, dealing with the anxiety and pain of the injections each day was made easier by a little device called a Buzzy.

Rheumatology Nurse Francesca Welch explains how it works: “The Buzzy is held near the place you’re having the injection. It vibrates which helps to distract the young person and also confuse the pain pathways to the brain. It’s great for reducing anxiety and pain before an injection.”

When Harrison’s cousin Jack Foster, 11, saw how much the Buzzy had helped, he wanted other children to have them too. This year he ran the Plusnet Yorkshire Half Marathon Kids’ Race over 2.5Km to raise more than £200, which he used to buy and donate four Buzzy kits to the Rheumatology Department at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Jack said: “I wanted to give the Buzzys because I saw the difference it made to my cousin. I hope the kids who use these will have a better time with their injections.”

Find out more about our Rheumatology Service.