Shining a light on Feeding Tube Awareness Week
By Andrea Viney
This week, we’re shining a light on Feeding Tube Awareness Week in support of our families whose kids are tube fed. Landmarks across the country are lighting up purple and blue to celebrate the tubie community and raise awareness. Check out your local light up locations and help us spread the word!
Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, the Bolte Bridge, Brisbane Parliament House, Adelaide Ovaland Optus Stadium in Perth are among a long list of landmarks lighting up this week for feeding tube awareness and ‘Tubie Tuesday’.
Feeding Tube Awareness Week (FTAW) is being celebrated across the country, to increase awareness and unite the tube feeding community.
Landmarks, buildings and bridges, are lighting up purple and blue in every state and territory, as well as New Zealand’s South Island, to help raise important awareness.
Also known as enteral nutrition, Tube feeding is a way of getting food and drink into the body if a person is unable to eat/drink or unable to eat/drink enough. Food in liquid form, formula, fluids, and medicine can be given through a tube into the stomach or small intestine. There are varying reasons a baby, child or adult may require a feeding tube and many of the medical conditions that cause feeding difficulties are invisible.
National support and patient advocacy organisation, ausEE Inc. who promote and coordinate FTAW and ‘Light Up for Feeding Tube Awareness’, say the campaign is about bringing everyone together who has a feeding tube, whatever the reason may be.
By shining the light on some of the challenges faced and the day-to-day impact of tube feeding on individuals, families, and carers, we can increase understanding and support for the tube feeding community.
Over 80 landmarks, buildings and bridges across Australasia will be lighting up this week, symbolic of the strong support behind FTAW 2023. Some locations will be lighting up for the entire awareness week, while others will light up only on Tuesday February 7, in celebration of Tubie Tuesday.
The significance of purple and blue, is connected to the common colours of tube supplies and the fluids that flows through the feeding tubes.
People are encouraged to visit their closest purple and blue landmark on light up night/s, take photos and share on social media, using hashtags #FTAW2023 and #TubieTuesday to help reach as many people as possible.
Visit tubefeedingaware.com.au for a full list of participating landmarks.
Keep an eye out for our full feature on tube feeding in Source Kids Autumn Edition, out soon.
