University Hospitals Birmingham Charity’s NHS Superheroes appeal has received a boost thanks to beauty blogger Gary Thompson, aka The Plastic Boy, and his generous donation of £1,028. Gary’s generous donation was inspired by the treatment that his sister, Charlene Nelson received for COVID-19.

The NHS Superheroes appeal was set up by the Charity to help support the 22,000 members of staff across University Hospitals Birmingham, and the patients they are treating, during the fight against COVID-19.

Charlene is a nurse at Sandwell Hospital, and began feeling unwell on 12 April, and was taken into A&E at Sandwell Hospital, where she was isolated due to her symptoms. As Charlene received a kidney transplant in 2015, she was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to be under the care of the specialists there.

After just a week in hospital, Charlene made a full recovery and has now been able to return home to work.
Grateful that his sister had made a recover, Gary decided to do something to say thank you. Gary, who is from Birmingham, is a well-known beauty blogger and model, and was the first man to appear in an advertising campaign for a cosmetics company.

With over 300,000 followers on Instagram and an incredible 2 million views on his YouTube Channel, Gary wanted to let all of his supporters know just how grateful he an his family were to the NHS.

Gary said: “I was deeply impressed with how my sister was looked after and treated at the QE Hospital! Her recovery and treatment are the reason she is well and with us today considering her health concerns she had in the past! I knew I had to do something to give back to the wonderful NHS STAFF I am so pleased not only do I help contribute to the donations but all my beautiful supporters on INSTAGRAM/YOUTUBE AND TWITTER helped! Thank you so much!”

Charlotte Schofield, Director of Fundraising at University Hospitals Birmingham Charity, said: “Our thanks go to Gary for this incredibly generous donation. On behalf of everyone at the Charity I’d like to express just how happy we are that Charlene has made a full recovery.

“His generous donation will help us to support our incredible NHS Superheroes during this difficult time, helping to fund the welfare hubs where they receive support, including mindfulness sessions to help with their mental health.

“The donation will also help us support our patients, funding iPads to help them to stay in contact with their loved ones whilst they are in hospital, and activity packs to help to keep them entertained.”

Find out more about the NHS Superheroes appeal, and make a donation, here.

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