Why are we fundraising?

On Monday 30th September 2019 we lost our beloved husband, daddy and granda, George (Geordie) McCarley to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In the last years of daddy’s life he struggled to do everyday tasks that most of us take for granted. He couldn’t make plans because his illness through so many obstacles in his way. Daddy didn’t know how he would feel one day to the next. Simple things like getting up & ready to attend hospital appointments became so much more difficult for him. His quality of life was poor & watching him deteriorate day by day was extremely difficult for us as his family to watch.

In April 2015 daddy was admitted to ICU in The Mater Hospital, Belfast. In this admission we thought we were losing our daddy forever. This was the first time he used a NIPPY machine. As we walked into ICU & saw the NIPPY mask attached to daddy, our hearts broke. He looked so weak & we felt so helpless. Daddy was extremely ill. Thankfully for us, he fought hard & with the help of the NIPPY he was moved to the High Dependency Unit, then on to Ward B (Respiratory). We were so grateful our prayers were answered & we got to keep our daddy a while longer.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, daddy become more ill. His hospital admissions were more frequent & the quality of life that he had left was disappearing before our eyes. In June 2019, we were called to daddy’s bedside. He was struggling & we were expecting the dreaded news that no family ever wants to hear. Once again, he surprised us. He fought hard, his NIPPY fought hard & he was back with us. During this hospital admission it was discovered that daddy was a CO2 retainer. This meant that when he was receiving oxygen his body was retaining it & turning it into carbon dioxide. The NIPPY machine was now being used to push the CO2 daddy retained from each bout of oxygen out of his body. Daddy became so dependent on a NIPPY that he had to have one at home. When daddy first used a NIPPY machine back in 2015 this machine was used solely during some hospital admissions. In the last months of daddy’s life he depended on the NIPPY up to 18 hours a day.

Sadly as the weeks went on we could see that the NIPPY wasn’t bringing him round like it previously would have. Daddy was admitted to hospital for the last time in September 2019. During this admission we received the devastating news that our wonderful daddy had stage 2 respiratory failure. There was nothing more they could do, nothing would ever bring daddy back from this.

On Friday 20th September we got the news that daddy only had a year left to live, oh how we wish this was true. Exactly one week later - Friday 27th September we got the heart wrenching news that our daddy only had days to a week left with us. He was deteriorating rapidly & watching this big man we looked up to all our lives slowly drift away before our eyes, is an image we will never forget. He fought hard to stay with us, he suffered to make sure he went when the time was right. On Monday 30th September 2019, surrounded by his wife & 5 children daddy peacefully slipped away. Our lives have changed forever, we miss him beyond words. We lost the heartbeat of our family, we lost the man who taught us right from wrong, we lost our husband, our daddy & a dearly loved Granda.

With the help of family, friends & colleagues, we have put together a relay team in the Belfast marathon. We are running to raise money to help purchase a NIPPY machine for Ward B, The Mater Hospital, Belfast in memory of our beloved daddy. These machines cost around £3500 each. We know our fundraising journey will be tough & £3500 won’t come easy but we are prepared to do everything we possibly can to raise this amount.

Handing over a cheque to the Mater hospital to purchase a NIPPY machine dedicated to our daddy would make us feel immensely proud. Daddy had the kindest soul, whatever he had to give he gave to us. We want to make sure we can carry out his wish, this was, ‘Don’t ever let me be forgotten.’ As a family that’s impossible, we think about him every second, of every minute, of everyday. Our lives are empty, we miss him more than you could ever imagine but we want to make sure the friends he made on Ward B never forget him either.

Daddy was a patient in Ward B on a regular basis. He was on 1st name terms with the doctors & nurses & sometimes enjoyed his hospital stays a little too much. The care daddy received on this Ward is something that we as a family could never repay. Right up until daddy’s last breath they cared for him as a patient but also as a friend. We would be ever so grateful if you could support this cause, something extremely close to our hearts. Without these machines our daddy wouldn’t have had the quality of life that he did.

No matter how big or small your donation is, it helps make a difference in our fundraising journey.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Audrey, George, Paul, Jordan, Erin & Glenn McCarley xx