Swimming for St Richard's
12-year-old Darcey Webb has raised over £250 for My University Hospitals Sussex to support patients and staff on the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) at St Richard’s Hospital.
After a school project tasked the class to ‘be creative’ on a topic such as war, love or charity, Darcey chose the last theme. She challenged herself to swim as many lengths as possible in two hours, across two days in February, to fundraise for the hospital ward her grandfather, Terry, had been cared for on before his passing in 2022. Darcey managed an impressive 107 lengths across the two hours and raised an equally impressive £250.
Darcey’s adventurous streak and dedication to making a difference in the community make for an ideal fundraiser. She shared: “At seven years old I did a 13 mile walk for charity and that’s when I caught the fundraising bug! I’m a Charity Representative at my school – a role in which we organise different events for different charities. I’m an active person too – I play football with the Portsmouth Under 12 Girls Academy and enjoy swimming and dancing – so once I’m old enough I’d love to do something like a skydive for the hospital charity. I want to repay the kindness the hospital team showed my grandpa and family.”
Fundraising runs in the Webb family; Darcey’s grandmother, Rosemary, also helped raised vital funds for the ITU shortly after Terry received his end-of-life care on the ward. Rosemary worked as a nurse her whole career before retirement, from NHS to palliative care to the Navy (which was where she met Terry, an Army Medic). Rosemary was impressed with the care he received at St Richard’s Hospital. She said: “After my husband had a rare reaction to the chemotherapy he was receiving for his cancer treatment, he was transferred to the ITU where he stayed until he sadly died six days later. The team of doctors and nurses were so special. They were patient-centred, family-centred and I didn’t have to ask for anything. It was a sad time and I miss him very much, but I will always be grateful for the wonderful care he received during his last days.”
Daisy Rosser, Critical Care Ward Manager, shared her thanks:
