Demystifying tracheostomies for patients and their families
Posted on: 28 May 2026
A £300 grant is providing children with tracheostomies their own copy of a storybook to help them and their families feel included and understood.
The challenge
For families whose child requires a tracheostomy, the experience can be overwhelming. Alongside learning complex clinical care, parents must also explain the condition to siblings, extended family, nurseries and schools - often in situations where there is limited awareness or understanding of what a tracheostomy means in everyday life.
This can make inclusion and communication difficult, particularly for young children starting nursery or school, where peers and staff may have little prior knowledge of tracheostomy care and safety.
What the grant funded
A £300 Nottingham Hospitals Charity grant funded 50 copies of The Abilities in Me – Tracheostomy, a brightly illustrated children’s book designed to help explain life with a tracheostomy in an accessible and child-friendly way.
Purchase of 50 copies of The Abilities in Me – Tracheostomy.
Books gifted directly by the child’s surgeon or specialist nurse as part of education and support.
Measurable outcomes
Thanks to charity funding this grant has resulted in...
50 books secured, covering approximately five years of need based on 10–12 paediatric tracheostomies per year
Every child receiving a tracheostomy at Queen’s Medical Centre will now receive a personal copy
Improved early understanding in nursery and school settings through shared reading with peers and staff
Enhanced family education resource supporting communication beyond the hospital setting
What staff say...
Miss Sheneen Meghji Paediatric ENT surgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“Having a paediatric tracheostomy is a huge adjustment for children and families. There is so much learning and emotional processing involved, not just for parents but for siblings, grandparents, schools and nurseries too.
“This book helps make those conversations easier. It shows children that they can still be included, still play and still be themselves.”
Specialist Paediatric ENT Nurse Liz Shipman has also been instrumental in sharing the resource with families at the point of diagnosis, helping ensure early understanding and support.
What patients and loved ones say...
Isaac, now three, had his tracheostomy fitted as a baby due to complex airway conditions. His dad, Kyran Lowe, described the impact of the book on their family and nursery experience:
“Until Isaac needed one, I thought tracheostomies were generally something older people had, not young children. Since then, I’ve learned a lot myself.
“The book has carried him through. We use it to explain things to other children in the family and nursery read it to the class.
“The biggest difference was giving it to the nursery before Isaac started. The children had already read it, so they understood and knew how to include him. It made the transition so much easier.”
“It helped the whole class understand before he even started”: How a book is helping children with tracheostomies feel included.
A £300 grant is providing children with tracheostomies their own copy of a storybook to help them and their families feel included and understood.
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