Patient was inspired to send 45,000 handmade cards

Katie Callaghan said: "If it only puts a smile on somebody's face for a second, then it's worth it"

A charity set up by a 13-year-old has delivered 45,000 cards to children staying in hospitals over the last decade.

In 2015, now 23-year-old Katie Callaghan, from Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, received a handmade card from a friend while she was a patient at Royal London Hospital for four months.

It inspired her to start Cards For Bravery which sends cards and gifts to teenagers and children staying in hospitals around the country.

She said: "I experienced firsthand how isolating and difficult hospital stays can be and I wanted to bring some encouragement to other young patients going through similar experiences."

For the first five years of her charity Katie Callaghan handmade the cards from her hospital bed

Ms Callaghan was diagnosed with the rare condition of Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction when she was 13.

She had to frequently stay in hospital throughout her teenage years and her illness meant she has difficulty digesting food and is fed via a line that goes into her bloodstream.

She described how she has "always been creative" and started making cards from her hospital bed because it was a "great distraction".

For the first five years of her charity Cards For Bravery she handmade the cards from her hospital bed.

The charity, which also sends gifts, is now partnered with more than 20 hospitals.

'Smile on somebody's face'

In May the charity will celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Ms Callaghan said in that time it has delivered 45,000 cards, including 7,000 last year.

Cards are sent to the charity by schools, businesses and individuals who want to take part in the project.

The charity now has 80 volunteers and is partnered with more than 35 hospitals.

Over the next ten years she wants it to grow further and help more people.

She said: "I want to build more of a network and a community for families and their children who have chronic illnesses.

"If it only puts a smile on somebody's face for a second, then it's worth it."