By Carolyn Webb
When Marshall Teather fell off his bed, his relatives feared he’d broken his neck and leg. And so he was rushed to hospital – at Chadstone Shopping Centre.
Of course, “Chaddy” is not a hospital, although it does offer retail therapy.
Here for first aid: Aston Teather holds teddy bear Marshall as his parents and three siblings look on. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
But Marshall is not human, he’s a soft toy, and he was “treated” on Sunday at the Teddy Bear Hospital.
Owner Aston Teather, 6, of Knoxfield, was by Marshall’s side in the mock emergency, X-ray and physiotherapy departments, among many set up in the south-east Melbourne shopping centre’s lower ground floor.
The diagnosis was better than expected — just a few strains, and so physiotherapy students helped Marshall lift some weights and gave him a massage.
Since starting in Melbourne in 2009, the event, now held twice a year at two different venues, has raised over $500,000 for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Check up: a student doctor examines Beatrix Elisse Garcia’s teddy, Beatrice, as Mum Christine looks on.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
It’s not just for teddies: sick and injured dolls, dinosaurs, zebras and unicorns were all welcome, too.
There were toy helicopters and ambulances, X-ray machines made of foil and plastic, and teddy-size blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, stethoscopes and weighing scales.
Over 600 University of Melbourne students in areas ranging from medicine to nursing, physiotherapy, social work and dentistry volunteered at Chadstone on Saturday and Sunday.
About 2000 children, aged from two to 10, and their parents and guardians, attended.
Please look after this bear: Felix Strong, 2, with his toy koala Koolala at the entrance to the Teddy Bear Hospital at Chadstone Shopping Centre.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Melissa Teather and husband Andrew brought their four children — Aston, 6, and Louis, 2, presented their teddies, and older siblings Giselle, 8, and Remy, 10, came to support them.
Melissa said it was a lot of fun for the kids but also educational.
She said her toddler, Louis, who brought his teddy, Ceepa, was scared when he first walked into the “hospital”.
“I think it was the fear of the unknown, but now he’s loving it,” Melissa said.
Peter and Christine Garcia, of Camberwell brought daughter Beatrix Elisse, 2, and her pink teddy bear Beatrice, who had a tummy ache.
Felix Strong, 2, helps a student doctor weigh Koolala the toy koala.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
A student doctor did a check-up on Beatrice, gave her some “medicine” and reassured the toddler her teddy would be OK.
Peter said when Beatrix Elisse had been sick in the past, she had feared doctors “because they prod and poke her” but this was a nicer environment.
Christina Cox, of Ascot Vale, said her son Felix, 2, was nervous when she suggested bringing his toy koala, Koolala.
“He was wondering whether there was something wrong with Koolala; if he needed to go to hospital.”
Koolala the toy koala gets measured by a medical student.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Christina assured Felix “it’s just a check-up. It’s fine”.
Paul Monagle, a University of Melbourne paediatrics professor who was a supervising academic at the Teddy Bear Hospital, said students had organised everything from the activities to ticketing and rosters.
He said: “At every level, this is a winning activity.”
As well as being a fundraiser, it worked “as a mechanism for students to improve their communication skills, and as a mechanism for children to interact with hospital staff and make-believe doctors in a non-threatening way, to try and reduce their fear and anxiety”.
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