Family raises over £30,000 for Intensive Care Unit
Nick and Katie Read have raised an incredible £30,750 to support the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St Richard’s Hospital. The family presented a cheque to the hospital’s charity, My University Hospitals Sussex, this month as a symbol of appreciation for the life-saving treatment and care their son received on the ICU.
In July last year, 16-year-old Bear had just finished his GCSEs and was at the beginning of what should have been a great summer, when he fell ill on holiday in Cornwall. The family visited the local A&E and were sent away with a suspected virus. But after returning home to Chichester, Bear deteriorated and was quickly admitted to St Richard’s Hospital. By the next day, his organs were failing. Bear was diagnosed with sepsis and his family told to prepare for the worst.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs, with the immune system going into overdrive. It is often referred to as the ‘hidden killer’ because it is hard to spot.
Bear was one of the lucky ones, beating the odds to make a full recovery.
To thank the ICU team, Nick and Katie decided to fundraise for the hospital charity. In April, Nick ran the iconic London Marathon, and the same weekend Katie walked the equivalent.
This month, coincidently on the one-year anniversary of Bear’s discharge from the ICU, the family returned to handover a cheque for £30,750.
Daisy Rosser, Critical Care Ward Manager, said: “This donation is such a boost for our staff – knowing we have incredible support like this from previous patients and the local community is amazing. We plan to put this money towards funding sepsis awareness training and a cooling device for the unit, which will enable us to manage the temperature of critically ill patients more efficiently. This wouldn’t be possible without donations like this. We are so grateful to the Read family and very happy to see Bear doing so well.”
Nick added: “We’re just eternally grateful to the team – they saved Bear’s life. Our donation is a drop in the ocean compared to the gratitude we have for them and the work they do day in day out.”
