Katie Baker
Kate's 47 mile race series
Fundraising for King George & Queen's Hospitals Charity
Story
It is quite literally my pleasure to be nailing my colours to the mast of King George & Queen's Hospitals charity because the care and attention of their staff means that I am still in one piece, let alone able to run again.
I came to be a patient at Queen’s (Romford) in December 2016 after a turbulent five weeks of continual migraines, vomiting and a CAT scan at Colchester A&E that showed a shady looking mass in my brain - that we now know was a haemangioblastoma (benign brain tumour). They were a bit suspicious of what they saw so sent it to Queens for a second opinion and they demanded I was sent to them immediately. So I was blue lighted down the A12 on the Monday morning before Christmas, in the peak of rush hour of all times.
I spent a total of six days in the care of some of the most kind, empathic and talented people ANYONE could hope to meet. I had to undergo two major operations on my head, some very noisey MRI scans and be followed round by a head drip that was not too dissimilar from a naughty child. But despite arriving in a state of unconsciousness I was then discharged in perfect health on Christmas Eve in time to spend Christmas with my family.
I wrote to Matthew Hopkins (Chief Executive) to tell him I hope he is proud of all his colleagues, and naturally he said he was. And why shouldn't he be; they are truly remarkable and they represent everything that is fantastic about the NHS. Their hard work, commitment and compassion means so much to me, that I wanted to do something to say 'thank you'. Not just for looking after me when I needed it the most, but for saving me and giving my life back.
So why the 47 mile race series? Well, 47 miles is the distance between Colchester General and Queen's Hospital in Romford... so a fitting tribute to the two hospital's who worked together to save my life.
I came to be a patient at Queen’s (Romford) in December 2016 after a turbulent five weeks of continual migraines, vomiting and a CAT scan at Colchester A&E that showed a shady looking mass in my brain - that we now know was a haemangioblastoma (benign brain tumour). They were a bit suspicious of what they saw so sent it to Queens for a second opinion and they demanded I was sent to them immediately. So I was blue lighted down the A12 on the Monday morning before Christmas, in the peak of rush hour of all times.
I spent a total of six days in the care of some of the most kind, empathic and talented people ANYONE could hope to meet. I had to undergo two major operations on my head, some very noisey MRI scans and be followed round by a head drip that was not too dissimilar from a naughty child. But despite arriving in a state of unconsciousness I was then discharged in perfect health on Christmas Eve in time to spend Christmas with my family.
I wrote to Matthew Hopkins (Chief Executive) to tell him I hope he is proud of all his colleagues, and naturally he said he was. And why shouldn't he be; they are truly remarkable and they represent everything that is fantastic about the NHS. Their hard work, commitment and compassion means so much to me, that I wanted to do something to say 'thank you'. Not just for looking after me when I needed it the most, but for saving me and giving my life back.
So why the 47 mile race series? Well, 47 miles is the distance between Colchester General and Queen's Hospital in Romford... so a fitting tribute to the two hospital's who worked together to save my life.