Spider-Man’s biggest fan had a day to remember after staff at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow arranged a private screening of the wall crawler’s latest adventure.
Little Maxwell Shaw, 6, was delighted when he found out he and his family would get to see Spider-Man: No Way Home at the RHC’s MediCinema this week.
Maxwell was joined by his parents April and Lee Shaw and older brother Zachary, 9, for the special screening ahead of Christmas.
Dad Lee said: “It was great to get to watch Spider-Man together, we are movie buffs and it’s one of the things we like to do as a family so if we hadn’t been in the hospital we would have been going to see it. We can’t thank the staff enough for putting this on for us.
“Over the last few days we watched the other two Spider-Man films to refresh where the story was, Max doesn’t vocalise too much at the moment but when he sees Spider-Man his face lights up, we’re so grateful to all of the staff for arranging this.
“Max loves Spider-Man and when it was his birthday on December 12 the staff decorated his room blue and red, they have been amazing and we have built such a great relationship with them.”
As well as arranging the Spidey screening with their MediCinema colleagues, staff at the RHC have also been spreading some festive cheer across the hospital, with Maxwell and his family also getting to see Santa abseil into the hospital campus last week.
Lee said: “The staff are doing so much to make Christmas special for everyone who is at the Royal Hospital for Children, from decorating the wards and wearing Christmas hats to sorting the cinema visits and arranging the visit with Santa.”
Maxwell is currently receiving specialist treatment for Leukaemia at the RHC, so he and his family are unable to spend Christmas at home with family in Nottingham. But Lee and April are hoping to spend the day as a family, at the Glasgow flat they are currently staying in, which was provided by charity Calums Cabin.
Lee added: “Depending on Max’s bloods we hope to go back to the flat on Christmas Eve. Zachary has been staying with his grandparents in Nottingham while we have been here with Max, so he is also excited to get to see us all over Christmas. He is great with Max and has been helping him so much as he recovers from some of the neurological impacts the treatment has had on him.
“While it’s been tough being away from home we are so happy to be in Glasgow, the specialist care here has been great and the staff are absolutely amazing. We can’t thank Professor Gibson and the team here enough for everything they have done, they are such a support network too.”
Melanie Hutton, General Manager at the Royal Hospital for Children, said: “We are so pleased Maxwell and his family enjoyed their day watching the new Spider-Man film at the MediCinema, I think we can all agree we have found Spider-Man’s biggest fan! As we continue to work within the current boundaries of COVID-19, arranging these private screenings are so important for the children and their families, this brings a bit of normality and helps to take their minds off being in hospital for a while.
“With Christmas just around the corner, our staff and the Children’s Charity will continue to work to bring festive magic to the wards, I would like to thank all of them for their incredible levels of dedication to making this time of year special for everyone at the RHC.”
The MediCinema at the RHC has been hosting private screenings for patients and their families, in line with COVID-19 restrictions since May this year. As well as screening the new Spider-Man movie they are also showing Clifford the Big Red Dog, Encanto, Ghostbusters and Christmas favourite Elf.
Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity funds the screenings for children at the Glasgow MediCinema. Kirsten Watson, CEO, said: “The magic of MediCinema is perhaps most apparent at this time of year, when children can enjoy an exciting Christmas trip to the movies despite being in hospital. These screenings are only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors, and we’d like to share our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has donated to Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity this Christmas.” Paul Giggal, MediCinema’s COO said: “Being in hospital is difficult at any time, but for children at Christmas it can be especially tough – and that is before you factor in Covid restrictions. It is really important to us to be able to stay open across the Christmas and New Year period to give children and their families the opportunity to spend quality time together away from the ward; it could be keeping their tradition of watching a favourite Christmas film together, or not missing out on seeing the latest blockbuster like Spider-Man: No Way Home just because they happen to be in hospital. We know the service reduces anxiety and isolation, and generally creating experiences and memories like this really can make such a difference at difficult times. Huge thanks to Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity for all their support, and to Sony Pictures UK too for the amazing film.”