The Fortnite gaming tournament for children with blood cancer will feature sports stars, nurses and doctors in a bid to strengthen social connections with their peers - and have some fun. Video / Sylvie Whinray
Aformer nurse is using video games to battle the loneliness and isolation children with cancer suffer.
A charity Fortnite tournament for children with blood cancer will feature sports stars, nurses and doctors in a bid to strengthen social connections with their peers - and have some fun.
Conceived by Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC) regional manager Tim Maifeleni, the competition followed a successful project to connect kids via video games in the oncology ward at Starship Hospital.
The popular 100-player battle royale game will see children, their family, doctors and nurses play alongside the Sky Sport Breakers basketball team, Black Sheep e-sport pros and radio DJs.
A former nurse at the Starship Hospital, Maifeleni, a keen gamer himself, introduced a pilot programme where a PlayStation 4 was loaned to kids who had to be in isolation due to their illness.
He said the programme was so successful a grant was secured to fit out each of the 19 rooms with a PS4.
"One thing that's really important to children is their social connections with their peers," he said.
"It helps patients make friends with each other through the walls."
Maifeleni said a lack of white blood cells prevents the children from speaking to each other in person.
"It helps them share stories and experiences," he said.
"They can play with friends at home and play with others in the hospital.
"Seeing the kid with cancer interacting with their friends - they become a whole different person.
"When people are happy, when they have their friends and social interaction, they cope better with treatment.
"It lifts their mood."
Tim Maifeleni and Starship leukaemia patient DJ play Fortnite together. Pohoto/ Sylvie Whinray
He said the project went so well they decided to make an event of it.
He approached LBC's charity partner, the Breakers basketball team who were "stoked" to get on board.
Hosted from the Breakers esport dojo in Auckland, doctors from Starship Hospital the Christchurch Children's Haematology Oncology Centre, along with nurses, siblings, parents and patients will be joined by Breakers players, radio DJs and professional esport stars to battle in the three-game tournament.
And all the ups-and-downs from the popular battle royale will be live-streamed on Twitch to an audience of friends and family.
