Wimbledon's hawk swoops in to wow bird-fan Goran

Evelina London patient, Goran Pearce, gets a special visit from Rufus the harrier hawk

A 13-year-old patient at Evelina London Children’s Hospital was left flying high after a special visit from Rufus the harrier hawk.

Goran Pearce got to hold the hawk who swapped his day job scaring away pigeons at Wimbledon tennis club to swoop into the hospital garden to meet him.

Goran, who has a rare genetic condition called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, has been an inpatient at Evelina London since October 2015.

Goran loves birds of prey and his mum, Caroline Pearce, has decorated his room in the hospital with posters and cuddly toys of his favourites.
To give him a break from hospital life, senior play specialist Julie Ainsworth arranged for Goran to meet Rufus.

Caroline says: “Goran loves birds of prey more than anything, and to see him grin when he met Rufus and got to hold him just made my day. It’s a memory that will stay with him.

“Julie is fantastic. She’s always a beacon of calm. She’s put in so much effort to make Goran’s time in hospital more interesting and we all really appreciate the difference she has made for him.”

Julie adds: “Goran has been a patient with us for such a long time and hasn’t been able to do many nice things – I wanted to arrange something a little bit special for him.

“When he met Rufus he smiled and looked better than I’ve seen him for a while.

“I’m very pleased that Rufus could take some time off from scaring away the pigeons of Wimbledon to spend some time with Goran.”