“It was last Thursday night when Taylor suddenly fell ill.” Karin, Taylor’s mom, recounts. “She was very sleepy. She didn’t want to eat anything. She was complaining about a headache and stomach ache, but she wouldn’t even drink water.” Concerned, Karin took Taylor to a private hospital to see what was wrong. Her blood tests came back worryingly abnormal. The doctors suspected that Taylor had diabetes, and she was transferred to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital to get the best specialists involved in her case. Soon, it was confirmed that Taylor had type 1 diabetes.

“We were totally out of our depth, but then they administered the drips and injections, and today, I can almost say that she’s back to her normal self.” Taylor had finished her homework for the day and was reluctant to leave the table and go back to her bed. She’s a slight nine-year-old with a sweet smile and soft, dark eyes.

Bright and early on the next Monday morning, Taylor and Karin met Michelle, the principal of the Red Cross Primary School. She came in with a bright smile and asked if Taylor would like to do her schoolwork on the days that she felt well enough. Excitedly, Taylor agreed. Before long, Taylor was

“Michelle advised us that we can email her teacher, inform the teacher of her medical condition, ask if they can provide us with the schoolwork and then, while Taylor’s here and not sick, she can do something to keep her mind occupied. And so that she can feel, okay, I’m still in charge of something.”

Taylor’s shy smile grows slowly as her mom talks about her schoolwork. “I saw this morning how excited Taylor was when the lady came and said we’re going to do homework, which means a lot to me.” Mom and daughter’s eyes meet, and they smile at each other across the table.

Taylor is keen to talk about school, too. “I like history.” Her shyness disappears for a moment, and her eyes twinkle. “You get to know what happened in the past, and it’s really cool and fun. But last week I missed my history walkabout at my school. We go to different places and talk about what happened here and stuff like that.” She tried her best to hide the disappointment in her voice, but her face betrayed her.

Children like Taylor have had their lives turned upside down by illness or injury. They’re thrust into an unfamiliar world; they lose their autonomy and their sense of time, and they can lose all confidence. Keeping them up to date with their schoolwork gives them a sense of control, personal attention, and positive social interaction. It helps them to look beyond their challenges and look forward to the future.