Family raise money for lifesaving piece of equipment
In November 2018, Tracy Morgan was involved in a hit and run incident that left her fighting for her life at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Tracy had serious injuries to her head, broken ribs, a torn shoulder, and she was in danger of losing her left leg which was broken in multiple places. For the first four days after the incident, Tracy was in a coma and was treated on critical care.
During this time, Tracy required CT scans to assess the damage to her head. For the staff on Critical Care, this meant transporting a critically ill patient to the CT Scanner, whilst attached to all of the equipment that was keeping her alive.
Tracy’s dad, Terry Hunt, could see how tricky this was for the staff. He said: “We have found the Critical Care unit is a place where we as a family were aware of the complete dedication that is given to the patients. We really appreciated that they work so very hard to save Tracy’s life. We wanted to do something to show our gratitude.”
Tracy spent seven weeks at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, where she received three surgeries on her leg in order to save it. Six months on, Tracey is trying to get her life back to normal, but sadly has not been able to return to her work in childcare.
Tracy said: “This incident has completely changed my life. I’m so grateful to the incredible staff at QEHB as without them I wouldn’t be here today.”
Tracy’s dad, Terry, wanted to raise money for the hospital to give something back, and decided to raise money to support the Mobile CT Scanner appeal. The appeal is raising £325,000 to fund a state-of-the-art mobile CT scanner which will mean that critically ill patients like Tracy do not have to be moved in order to be scanned.
Terry and Tracy’s mum Gillian organised a family fun day in the village of Wombourne, Staffordshire, and invited friends and family to attend. The event raised a fantastic £550 for the Mobile CT Scanner appeal.
Terry invited Steffen Kroll, a Consultant on Critical Care who played an instrumental role in keeping Tracy alive. Terry said: “Steffen came along to the fun day, which was fantastic. It meant the world to us that he was there after all the incredible work that he did to keep Tracy alive.
“I thanked him for saving his daughter’s life, he said: If Tracy didn’t have the will to live she wouldn’t have come through. Without the will to live she wouldn’t have made it.”
The fun day included a raffle and tombola, as well as a fantastic demonstration of an armoured Police vehicle. Tracy said: “I am so glad that the event has been able to raise so much money for an important cause. The new scanner has the potential to make such a huge difference to critically ill patients with head injuries.”
Jess Harris, Fundraising Hub Officer at QEHB Charity, said: “Our thanks go to Tracy, Terry and Gillian for their incredible fundraising efforts. The Mobile CT Scanner has the potential to save lives, as it will enable crucial treatments to reach critically ill patients much sooner.
“At the moment, some patients who are in a severely unstable condition are not able to be scanned as the risks of moving them are too high. This means that doctors have to treat them ‘blind’. The Mobile CT Scanner will bring the care to the patient, giving the staff all of the information that they need to treat the patient.”
Find out more about the Mobile CT Scanner appeal here.
