THE fundraising friend of a young woman given a life-saving lung transplant hopes to give something back to extraordinary hospital staff.
Ann Cook, who lives in Vine Lane, Uxbridge, has organised a cake sale and raffle to raise money for the transplant team at Harefield Hospital.
Mrs Cook saw first hand how the doctors, nurses, surgeons and physiotherapists at the hospital, in Hill End Road, Harefield, helped to save the life of close friend Kirstie Tancock, who received a lung transplant at Harefield in 2011 when she was 21.
She had been flown to Harefield from Devon, where she lived, and after two false alarms, got her lung transplant. It was a success.
“It was incredibly sad as she was days from death. It was touch and go,” Mrs Cook said.
“She finally got her transplant and has gone on to continue fundraising and raising awareness of organ donation. She even cycled 180 miles from Exeter to Harefield last year.
“We wanted to make people aware of the extraordinary but unsung efforts of the transplant team at Harefield Hospital. They kept her alive against all the odds, and we want to raise money so they can do the same for someone else.”
Last year, Mrs Cook’s husband, Roger, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the hospital, and this year, along with some of the transplant staff, he is trekking in the Sahara.
Mrs Cook wanted to do something to help too, and has arranged a cake sale and raffle. Prizes include one night’s bed and breakfast stay at The Red Lion Hotel, in Royal Lane, Hillingdon, a number of meals for two at Pizza Express, Ask, Café Rouge and Alexander’s Wine Bar, in Stockley Park; a £30 shopping voucher for intu Uxbridge (formerly The Chimes shopping centre); two one-day passes for Virgin Active in Stockley Park; champagne, assorted bottles of wine and other prizes.
The fundraising day will run from 9am to 3pm on June 21 at Barclays Bank, in High Street, Uxbridge.
