Yorke Peninsula mum Stephanie March turns son Bill’s hospital journey into a book for kids
After more than a decade of hospital corridors, tests and admissions with her son, Yorke Peninsula mum Stephanie March has turned their experience into a children’s book with a simple message – every feeling matters.
The farmer, author and children’s health advocate will launch Bill’s Hospital Adventure: Every Feeling Matters in Kadina and Adelaide on August 26 and 27, right in the middle of Children’s Book Week.
And while her 11-year-old son Bill sits at the heart of the story, this isn’t a book about his diagnosis.
It’s for the child heading in for their first blood test. The kid with a broken arm. The one facing another hospital admission. And the brother or sister watching it all from the sidelines.
More Than A Decade Of Hospital Life
Steph and her husband Cameron run a broadacre farming business between Kadina and Bute, as well as at Tooligie on the Eyre Peninsula.
Bill was born with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, or PCD, a rare genetic condition that affects the lungs’ ability to clear mucus.
There is no cure, and for Bill it means daily chest physiotherapy, medication and regular hospital admissions in Adelaide.
Over the years, the family has travelled thousands of kilometres and spent hundreds of nights away from home accessing healthcare.
Those experiences helped inspire The BB Crew and Bill’s Hospital Adventure, but Steph wanted the book to reach far beyond children living with chronic or rare conditions.
“This book is a conversation starter — an invitation to talk about feelings with children in a supportive and understanding way. The BB Crew was created to help keep the health conversation alive. Every child. Every feeling. Every conversation,” Mrs March said.
“Children can feel two things at once. They can be brave and scared. They can be grateful to a nurse and frustrated they’re in hospital at all. They can be excited to go home from hospital, but anxious on the day of discharge. Sometimes a child doesn’t need us to fix the feeling — they need us to notice it, sit beside them, and give them the space to connect.”
Meet The BB Crew
Hiding throughout the book are 13 characters known as Bill’s Buddies, or The BB Crew, helping children put a name to what they might be feeling.
There’s Brave BB, reminding kids they’re allowed to feel scared and brave at the same time, Curious BB, who encourages questions, and Sharing BB, who encourages them to talk about the big stuff.
Written in gentle rhyme and illustrated by Andreea Balcan, the book tackles common worries about hospitals, from unfamiliar smells and machines to strange food and nights away from home.
Steph chose to self-publish, allowing her to create warm, colourful hospital scenes with healthcare workers at children’s eye level and characters reflecting a range of backgrounds and medical experiences.
One Book Goes A Little Further
Through The BB Crew’s Donate a Book program, people can also send a copy directly to children and families using hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses and Backpacks 4 SA Kids.
Donations have already started rolling in during pre-orders, along with messages from people wanting to help put the book into the hands of kids who might need it.
After years of tests, procedures and hospital admissions, this time Bill’s experience gets to do something different, head out into the world and help another child facing a hospital visit of their own.
Bill Heads To Book Week
Bill’s Hospital Adventure will launch at the Copper Coast Sport and Leisure Centre in Kadina on Wednesday, August 26, followed by a State Library of South Australia launch in Adelaide on Thursday, August 27.
Entry to both events is by gold coin donation, supporting PCD Australia and the Friends of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Bill’s Hospital Adventure: Every Feeling Matters is available for pre-order now for $35.
Readers can also donate a copy through The BB Crew’s Donate a Book program, helping put the book into the hands of children and families facing hospital stays of their own.
For pre-orders, launch registrations or to donate a book, visit The BB Crew website.
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