Lily raises a coffee cup to the Pancreatic Foundation
One of our youngest fundraisers, 12-year-old Lily Bradley, has raised a coffee cup to the Pancreatic team here at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham after treating her mom.
After Lily’s mom, Christy, was admitted to QEHB to get an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) removed from her pancreas, she decided to wanted to raise money for the ward that helped her. As well as this, Christy also ended up having a splenectomy which removes the spleen.
After being cared for at QEHB, Christy’s 12-year-old daughter decided she wanted to give something back to the staff that helped her mom through a really tough time. Lily decided to hold a coffee morning and a bake sale on two separate days at Erdington Methodist Church to raise money for the Pancreatic Foundation within QEHB Charity.
Lily’s coffee morning and bake sale raised an incredible £2,222.73 for the Pancreatic Foundation and will be used to provide added extras for the staff, patients and families on the wards that Lily’s mom, Christy, was treated on. Lily said: “My mom had an operation and was looked after on Ward 726 and I am very grateful for all of the people who had taken care of her, that is why I am raising money as a token of thanks and so it helps other people who are in my mom’s position.”
Talking about the treatment she had, Christy said: “My stay was far less stressful than I had imagined. The staff on ward 726 were fabulous and I felt in safe hands with both the surgeons and the anaesthetist, and the nurses were amazing.
“All of the staff were willing to take time to talk and reassure me and my family, everything was so well explained and thorough including information given on discharge.”
After around eight weeks after surgery, Christy unfortunately had complications and was taken back into hospital, it was discovered that she had developed a pseudocyst, similar to a cyst but has no wall or lining, in her pancreas.
Christy said: “I am still under the surgical team after having a stent fitted; they have all been fantastic and have the time to deal with issues no matter how small. I am very grateful for the quality of care I received at QEHB.
“Lily was just so happy to have me home and see me get better, so she decided she wanted to raise some money as a way of saying thank you and in the hope that it would help others have the same positive experience as I did.”
Lily’s bake sale was such a huge success and will really help us at the Charity to fund even more added extras for patients just like her mom. We aim to go over and above what the NHS can fund to provide the very best care at the hospital.
To find out more about what we do at the hospital charity and how you can get involved, please click here.
