Evie Owl goes on display at the RUH

An owl sculpture decorated in memory of a teenage girl called Evie Clover has gone on display at the Royal United Hospitals Bath. Evie's parents, relatives, friends and staff gathered on Friday 29 November to see it in the garden of the RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre.

Evie's parents Patsy and Bryan won a plain, unpainted owl model at the Minerva Owls auction that followed the public art sculpture trial which featured over 80 individually decorated super-sized owl sculptures seen in Bath and surrounding towns – and the idea of Evie Owl was born.

Bryan Clover, Evie's dad said:

"After we won a blank owl at auction we decided to have it painted with Evie's favourite toys from when she was little. It seems fitting that the decorated owl has come here to the hospital, where it will be seen lots of families and children, and where Evie's name and memory will be maintained."

Evie was 13 years old when she passed away from an aggressive brain tumour in January 2018. Polly Bates, RUH Paediatric Oncologist who helped care for Evie said:

"Evie was truly a remarkable young woman and it was our privilege to care for her at home when she was so poorly. She leaves a legacy and a bit of magic and it's so nice to have this special owl to remember her."

Bath artist Laura Fearn who decorated Evie's Owl said:

"It was really lovely to try to commemorate Evie using her favourite personal toys. I've tried to produce something that's appropriate and I wanted it to be just right. I'm very happy with the end result and glad that the owl is on display to help to remember Evie's life."

A plaque underneath Evie's Owl reads 'Evie Owl celebrates the life and memory of our wonderful daughter, Evie Clover. Thank you to the RUH Oncology Unit staff who supported her at home during her illness. Evie loved sport and was a talented scholar and musician. She was full of energy and would wish that you, like her, live your life to the full.'

After Evie passed away her parents set up a charity and called it Evie's Gift. The charity aims to give financial assistance to parents whose children have been admitted to hospital with a life threatening or life limiting condition and to fund research into the rare brain cancer that took Evie.

Evie's Gift aims to pay for two or three nights' accommodation locally and help meet other costs associated with being near your child while they are in hospital. For more information visit www.eviesgift.org.uk

ENDS

For more information contact:

Rebecca Hedges, Marketing and Communications Officer on 01225 826282 or email: Rebecca.hedges@nhs.net

Notes to Editor:

• The Forever Friends Appeal is the charity for the Royal United Hospitals, Bath. As well as fundraising for major campaigns, we raise funds for the hospital's wards and departments to pay additional specialist equipment and facilities, research and innovations, staff training and the creation of welcoming and highly beneficial healing environments for our patients and their families. Each year we invest in projects that go above and beyond what the NHS can provide.
• This year, The Forever Friends Appeal is celebrating their 20th anniversary and we are inviting the public to join us celebrating, rediscover how we've supported patient care at the RUH and help us fundraise for some very special appeals – Breast Unit and The Friendly Faces Project for patients living with Dementia.
• For more information about the Appeal visit: www.foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk

• Evie's Gift was established on 7 March 2018 after Evie Clover died from a brain tumour. The Charity works with children's hospitals across the country to support the parents of critically ill children.
• The Charity has already helped over 370 families with accommodation near to their hospital and an allowance towards food and travel costs.

• The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust provides acute treatment and care for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath, and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by four Clinical Commissioning Groups: Bath & North East Somerset CCG, Wiltshire CCG, Somerset CCG and South Gloucestershire CCG.
• The Trust has 759 beds and a comprehensive range of acute services including medicine and surgery, services for women and children, accident and emergency services, and diagnostic and clinical support services.
• In 2015 The Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust acquired the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS Foundation Trust. The RNHRD treats patients from across the country offering services in rheumatology, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, cancer related fatigue and fatigue linked to other long term conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
• The RUH is changing - we have an exciting programme of redevelopment underway transforming our site and further improving the services we provide. The Trust has opened the purpose-built RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre and is now working towards the new Dyson Cancer Centre. For more details visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk/fit4future
• For more information about the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust visit: www.ruh.nhs.uk

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