Young cancer patients experience the thrill of Escape Live Birmingham

Patients from the Teenage Cancer Trust Young Person’s Unit (YPU) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) enjoyed an exciting morning at Escape Live, Birmingham’s number one escape room venue that sees participants enter a themed room with a series of clues and puzzles that they must crack in order to ‘escape’ within the time limit.

YPU is a dedicated ward for young people aged between 16 and 24 who are being treated for cancer. QEHB Charity is proud to support the ward by providing ‘added extras’ such as specialist physiotherapy sessions that help to make the young people more comfortable, and a teacher for the unit, who enables the young people to keep on top of their studies.

Thanks to the generosity of Escape Live, which is based in Henrietta Street in the Jewellery Quarter, young people from the ward were able to experience the fun of solving themed puzzles as a team, and escaping the rooms before the time ran out.

Split into two teams, young people tackled the challenges of The Lab and Time Machine. They were given an hour to escape and both successfully completed the fun task with minutes to spare.

In The Lab, players enter a scientific research facility where a toxic gas leak could spread and be a danger. Teams work together to isolate the affected areas, make the facility safe save the world.

In Time Machine, teams that have been lost in time travel through a loop hole that takes them to different moments through history. On the way, they discover clues to find their way back to the present day or risk being lost in the past forever.

One of the successful escapees was Luke, who said: “It was a great day out. It was nice to work as a team with others who have had similar experiences to me. We all really enjoyed our time at Escape Live, I’d love to come back in the future!”

Will Amott, Venue Manager at Escape Live Birmingham, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the teams from YPU, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to take on the challenge of our rooms at Escape Live Birmingham.

“We are very pleased they had a great time. The two teams did extremely well working together to solve the clues and get out of the rooms with minutes still on the clock.

“Escape Live has become one of the most popular escape games room venues in the UK and is earning rave reviews on TripAdvisor. Our escape rooms are for between two and six people and we currently have four rooms in Birmingham which include The Lab and Time Machine.”

Senior Fundraiser at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity, Rachel Learmonth, said: “QEHB Charity is incredibly grateful to Will and everyone at Escape Live Birmingham for their generosity in inviting the young people along for a really fun morning. It was great to see the young people enjoying themselves and taking on the brilliant challenges.

“The hospital charity works to make the hospital experience as easy as possible for young people who are receiving cancer treatment. Thanks to the generous donations it receives, the Charity has funded ‘added extras’ such as DVDs and games, pizza nights and ‘grab bags’ filled with essential items, all of which have meant that we can be there every step of the way to support young patients with cancer.

"The young people who are treated on YPU have all faced a possibly life-threatening illness at an already difficult time in their lives. For many, their life is put on hold. QEHB Charity supports YPU in helping to ease this journey, allowing the young people to continue their education where possible, thanks to the teacher who comes to the ward.

"None of this would be possible without the kind donations that QEHB Charity receives, and thanks to the generosity of supporters such as Escape Live, the Charity is able to go 'over and above' for young cancer patients at the hospital."

If you would like to learn more about how QEHB Charity supports young people with cancer , please click here.