The matter in summary: Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Marianne Sivertsen Næss supports the building of family houses for seriously ill children, after losing her own daughter to cancer in 2003. The family houses are to be an offer to families with seriously ill children who are admitted to hospital. A family house is to be built next to the hospital in Tromsø. Næss shares her experiences of having a sick child in hospital. She emphasizes the importance of having a place where the family can be together. The TV campaign will raise money for the family houses, and Næss encourages you to support this collection. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It is very, very strong. That’s what Marianne Sivertsen Næss says. To many, she is known as fisheries and oceans minister for the Labor Party and former mayor of Hammerfest. But she is also a mother. Mum to little Martine, who died of cancer in 2003. She was four and a half years old. Martine was three years old when she received the serious cancer diagnosis. This photo of Martine and mum Marianne was taken the day before they learned of the diagnosis. Martine was then 3 years old. Photo: Privat On Friday, Næss led on a leash to a door she has entered and exited many times. She walked in corridors that tell of her daughter’s all-too-short life. She sat down in a room with many memories. Good and bad memories. She is back at the pediatric cancer department at UNN. – I imagine what it was like. We have lots of pictures, and then we also have the memories. We have used these rooms here a lot for a period of almost 1.5 years. The daughter was three years old when she received the serious cancer diagnosis. – My whole life came crashing down in an instant when we got the message, says Næss. Marianne Sivertsen Næss is Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. She is also a mother from Hammerfest who has lost her daughter to cancer. Photo: Torkil Stoltz / news Sleep in hospital office with baby The TV campaign on Sunday will raise money for family houses at regional hospitals around the country. They must have an offer for families with seriously ill children who are admitted to hospital. The minister wants to support that as Martine’s mother. The TV campaign 2024 for the Children’s Cancer Association The TV campaign this year goes to the Children’s Cancer Association and their work in establishing family houses. Family houses are to be established at university hospitals in Tromsø, Trondheim, Bergen and Oslo. The family house is to be used by families with children who are going through a serious illness. The purpose is for parents, siblings, grandparents and other family and friends to be able to stay with the person who is ill in more private and cozy surroundings than a room in a hospital. The family house will also be of great benefit to society in that relatives and the sick person can cope better during and after illness by spending time in the family house. For every kroner spent on running the family home, eleven kroner should be returned to society, according to the report prepared by Menon Economics. Because Næss carries with her tough experiences as a mother. While the family was in the hospital with Martine, they also had their little sister with them, who was two months old when Martine fell ill. The rooms at the children’s and youth clinic at UNN brought back memories for the Ap politician from Hammerfest. Photo: Torkil Stoltz / news – We almost moved into UNN. We stayed in quadruple rooms when we could. But it wasn’t always free. – When it didn’t work, the baby was in a pram and I was on a mattress in an office. When people came to work in the morning, we unpacked, she says. The experiences they had mean that she finds it natural to stand up when the whole of Norway is collecting money to make everyday life a little easier for families facing their worst nightmare. – My experience is that everyone did absolutely everything they could so that we could feel as normal and well as we could, in a completely unreal time, she emphasizes. Marianne and the family did everything they could to give their daughter a normal family life, despite the illness. Photo: Privat Building a family home for seriously ill children But the hospital at the time lacked a tool that could make it a little easier for the family. In Tromsø, a family house will now be built for families with seriously ill children. When people are out with gays for the TV campaign, some of the kroner will go to this purpose. The Children’s Cancer Association, Tromsø municipality and the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN) visited the site of the new family house on Friday. Næss was present at the inspection. It was tough for her. – I know what it means to be a family that has a child with cancer. As she says it, her voice cracks. The mother’s tears that press on say what such a family house means, when words fail. Lost her daughter to cancer, supports the TV campaign. The family houses in Tromsø are not only built for families with seriously ill children. They must be able to be used by families with children with all types of serious diagnoses. That explains Trine Nicolaysen, secretary general of the Norwegian Children’s Cancer Association. – It will be a home away from home for families who have to travel far to be treated at UNN with their seriously ill child. It will be a place where the family can gather and be together, she says. Trine Nicolaysen, general secretary of the Norwegian Children’s Cancer Association. Photo: Torkil Stoltz / news An offer many people miss Seriously ill children and their families come from all over Northern Norway for treatment at the University Hospital of Northern Norway. – The family houses are long awaited. – It will be a new and wonderful offer to give to the families of the patients we have for treatment. That’s what Elin Gullhav says, head of clinic for the children’s and youth clinic at UNN. Elin Gullhav, clinic manager for the children’s and youth clinic at UNN, is looking forward to the family houses being built. Photo: Torkil Stoltz / news Family homes cannot make children healthy. Hospital life does not end by any means. But the idea is that the families should get a little breathing room. – The families can get out of the hospital. It will be a place where they won’t see people in white hospital gowns, which can be frightening for patients. I expect that the families will try and create a family atmosphere in the family houses, says Gullhav. – Important for the siblings and the sick Marianne Sivertsen Næss and the family went from Hammerfest to Tromsø with Martine. They were about 45 miles from home. She says that a family home here was a great help. The family experienced this since the Children’s Cancer Association had a house they could borrow back in 2003. – Then my sister, our parents and the rest of the extended family could come and help us in our daily lives. It was incredibly nice. Minister of State and mother Marianne Sivertsen Næss got to see the plot for the future family houses at UNN together with Tromsø mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen (both Labor Party). Photo: Torkil Stoltz / news – That is why it is incredibly important to support the Children’s Cancer Association and what the TV campaign is now doing for seriously ill children, she says. Næss says that the family house was particularly helpful for Martine and her little sister – who loved being with her older sister. – Being in a team. Being able to talk together. Doing things outside the hospital corridors. And not least that the child with cancer, or a seriously ill child, gets to have siblings, family and, in our case, also the cousins around them. – I know that means an incredible amount to the patient. Published 19.10.2024, at 11.13 Updated 21.10.2024, at 07.42
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Supports the TV campaign for the Children’s Cancer Association – news Troms and Finnmark
