A YOUNG MUM whose baby son was born with a rare genetic condition has set up her own business selling personalised tapes for people who wear a medicine or feeding tube.
Kari Hewitt, 26, set up Cheeky Tapes in July after she struggled to find tape designs that were ‘cheeky’ enough for her one-year-old, Freddie.
Freddie, who spent his first six-and-a-half weeks in hospital, now makes regular visits to Derian House Children’s Hospice where he loves splashing about in the hydrotherapy pool and making new friends at playgroup sessions.
Freddie uses a nasogastric (NG) tube, which is used to feed formula or medicine to a child who can’t get nutrition by mouth, and is held comfortable and secure with special medical tape.
Mum Kari, of Darwen, said: “When Freddie was born I struggled to find NG tape that wasn’t plain and white.
“I wanted to add a bit of his cheeky personality to his tape – something fun, bright and less medical.
“I spent weeks researching and creating prototypes, which Freddie has modelled and worn on his visits to Derian, and now we have a whole variety of tapes.
“I began this because of Freddie, but I hope that the tapes allow people of all ages to add a bit more personality to their NG tape.
“Business just keeps getting better, we’ve had orders from all over the world! I feel so proud – every time we get a new order we do a happy dance.”
Katie McNally, Wellbeing and Play Team Leader at Derian House, said: “Freddie loves having fun at playgroup with our other children. It has been wonderful to see him develop during his visits here at Derian.
“We always look forward to seeing his little face – his mum’s unique NG tapes bring out his adorable personality and his smiles brighten everyone’s day.”
Kari is constantly creating new designs and even offers to create custom requests. She is currently offering customers a 10% discount if they use the code ‘Derian10’ on her online shop.
To find out more, visit https://www.cheekytapes.co.uk/
