Story
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The John Radcliffe Oxford Heart Centre is a specialist centre that brings all the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Cardiothoracic care in one place. Amongst other things, the heart centre has a 24/7 heart attack centre, state-of-the-art imaging and support an internationally renowned Academic department of cardiovascular medicine.
Kat, a wonderful member of our Channel Performance team, has been having appointments, tests and procedures at the centre since it was opened in 2009. Kat was only a couple of days old when tests showed that her heart and lungs were not as strong as they needed to be. The John Radcliffe Hospital is one of the best in the country for cardiac consultants and research and some of the surgeries Kat has had over the years have been directly linked to some of the research that has been done on site, making her sometimes either a patient during a trial procedure or one of the first 100 to receive similar surgeries. In the last 15 years or so, Kat has had an open heart surgery, two new pacemakers, a cardioversion, an ablation and multiple heart catheters. The Oxford Heart Centre has also provided meditication, prescriptions and mental health support during that time.
At the end of 2023 it was determined that Kat's condition had deteriorated and the only real 'cure' was a heart transplant. In January 2024 this was then extended to include a lung transplant however by the end of the year she had been told that she was not viable for either of these options and her condition is now managed through medication, regular tests, appointments and a healthy lifestyle (plus her new fashion accessory called Airon - an oxygen cannister). Kat is the most inspirational person and is living her life with a positivity we should all admire - she's been on multiple hen parties, weddings, social and family events as well as joining us in the office once in a while (usually when there's cake involved).
As a Social and CSR team, we asked Kat to nominate a charity that had helped her as we wanted to concentrate any fundraising efforts during 2025 to a single cause. Kat quickly chose the Oxford Heart Centre:
"There are so many charities that mean so much to me but the Oxford Heart Centre is my chosen one. All the consultants, acute cardiac nurses, doctors, nurses, surgeons, surgical staff, technicians, reception staff, pharmacists, catering services and student doctors are the reason that living with this condition has been manageable. They are also the people on hand who have helped my family by answering questions, offering cups of tea, helping with accomodation and travel arrangements or just being a shoulder to cry on. I'd like to raise money towards the Heart Centre that can go to further research, equipment and maintenance to ensure that people like me can continue to live full lives".
All money raised through this link will be directed to the Oxford Heart Centre - so no matter which event or member of the Ipsos Channel Performance team you are supporting, your money is going to a brilliant cause that is helping a much loved member of our team.