Teddy’s story

In October 2023, Teddy Kelly was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma. Teddy received care at the Haematology and Oncology department at Sheffield Children’s, but in March 2024, it was found that Teddy’s cancer had spread. 

Teddy sadly passed away on 23 April at home with his family. 

Before Teddy’s passing, the family had become fundraisers for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, raising over £2,000 at the charity’s first-ever Mud Run in partnership with Firehouse Fitness. Katie previously worked at Sheffield Children’s as a play specialist for over ten years, and she was so grateful for the support from old friends and colleagues during Teddy’s treatment. 

After receiving the news that the treatment was no longer working for Teddy, the family started a GoFundMe to raise money in case they needed to seek treatment outside of the UK. This raised over £75,000 and allowed the family to start a foundation in Teddy’s memory – Team Ted Foundation. 

Katie said: “We decided to fundraise for the hospital as all their hard work did not go unnoticed. We will carry on supporting the charity alongside Team Ted! All the staff from doctors to domestics were so nice, caring and professional. We thank them so much for their hard work and everything they have done for us as a family.” 

Thanks to their fundraising, the Kelly family funded a specialist piece of equipment for the Haematology and Oncology department where Teddy received treatment. 

The special equipment provides photobiomodulation laser treatment. This is used to help children experiencing oral mucositis – a side effect of many cancer treatments which results in painful ulcers in the mouth. Oral mucositis makes children miserable and impacts their ability to eat and drink, often leading to weight loss and hospital admission for pain relief or specialist feeding. The laser emits light at a very specific wavelength, which improves tissue repair and stimulates a biological response speeding up healing and reducing pain. 

Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, Grainne Yesudian, wanted to introduce the service to Sheffield Children’s after seeing evidence of how effective its use was for paediatric patients in Glasgow. With the charity’s help, Grainne introduced the laser treatment to the hospital in 2022, a first for paediatric oncology care in England and still one of only three places, including adult care, that offers this treatment. 

During his time at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Teddy received the laser treatment, and his parents saw just how important it was for him. 

Thanks to charity funding, Grainne was able to train 12 nurses to deliver the laser treatment so it could be provided out of hours and at weekends. 

In 2023, however, the device needed to be serviced in Germany. That process took almost two weeks and, in that time, children were unable to access this treatment. 

Grainne and her team realised they needed a second device to ensure this didn’t happen again. 

Grainne said: “Many children were unable to access this treatment during this time, including Teddy. It had a huge impact on their pain experience and quality of life.” 

Inspired by how much the treatment had helped him, his family chose to fund the second laser in his memory. 

At the time, Katie said: “We didn’t think twice about spending some of the money from our fundraising to buy the laser as it helped Teddy in so many ways and the thought that there was only one didn’t sit right with us. This will be used numerous times a day and will directly help other children just like Ted.”