Sam Smith fundraises for QEHB after staff saved his life!
Back in January 2018 Sam Smith was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, now Sam wants to give back to the hospital to say thank you for saving his life.
Sam was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham after suffering an arterial rupture in his stomach, which can cause life-threatening internal bleeding. He spent a total of two weeks in Critical Care and a further three weeks on other units. If the trauma of the rupture wasn’t bad enough, Sam experienced a number of complications that subsequently lead to him losing a total of 3 stone in weight.
Despite how ill Sam was, he is now making a swift recovery and has decided to thank the hospital for saving his life by running the Bournemouth Marathon on 7 October! Sam said: “Since discharge, I feel I should make the most of my new sleeker physique and challenge myself to run a marathon. (My girlfriend thinks I have lost the plot… she may be right!)".
Sam’s training has not been easy, his first few physio sessions in Critical Care were, in his words: “Exhausting, I had to learn to sit up unaided, then I had to grasp walking- a few short steps left me tired and breathless. With ongoing physio and the support from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham staff my step count has improved and each day I feel stronger. Re-learning to run will be my hardest task yet, let alone completing a marathon” Sam is currently training and in a recent 20 mile run he timed in at an amazing 3 hours 30 minutes.
Rachel Learmonth, Senior Fundraiser at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham said: “What an inspiration Sam is! The Charity cannot thank him enough for his selfless and admirable fundraising. Sam’s dedication to running the marathon is a remarkable accomplishment. His funds will help massively towards the added extras such as TV’s for patients in Critical Care, hospital Wifi, funding for groundbreaking research and so many more things that the NHS cannot fund”.
To support Sam and his mission to fundraise for QEHB Charity please donate via his VirginMoneyGiving page here
