News / Appeal for ‘Northern Isles’ room at neuro ward
AN ORKNEY woman who set up a charity to raise money for the neurological ward at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after her husband fell ill is appealing to Shetlanders to help with her fundraising efforts.
Caroline Critchlow, of Houton, Orkney, has already raised £50,000 for Friends of the Neuro Ward ARI, which she and her husband Kevin set up after he was treated at the ward following a brain tumour.
The money will be used to create a “Northern Isles” respite room, which will benefit patients and visitors to the ward – especially those travelling long distances. She is asking Shetlanders to help achieve her goal of raising a further £20,000 by July.
“The money is going to go towards a special respite room – the Northern Isles room,” Caroline said. “If people would like to buy the calendar, or donate some money, that would be a great help.”
The room will be equipped with dressing gowns, fans and special beds which reduce the need for turning, to prevent bed sores. If enough cash is raised, funding will also go towards upgrading existing bathrooms to wet rooms, and building a bathroom into the high dependency ward.
Kevin spent five weeks at the ward in 2013 following being diagnosed with a severe acoustic neuroma, a type pf benign brain tumour. His resulting 22-hour operation was the longest ever performed at the ARI.
The dry-stone wall builder, who is a keen darts player, has made an excellent recovery but still receives treatment from the ward.
Caroline said: “They call him the miracle man… for him to come through the operation is remarkable.”
Any length of time spent in hospital is rarely enjoyable, but Caroline said it was made all the worse for the poor conditions of the neuro ward, which – unlike many of the other wards for higher profile illnesses – has gone without charity funding.
“The day room was completely dilapidated, the wallpaper was coming off the walls, the coffee table was broken… It was just horrible.”
The Critchlows found themselves waiting for results in a day room full of other patients in various levels of health, some severely debilitated.
“There wasn’t even a place to get a drink, and you daren’t leave because you’re waiting to hear news. It was a very scary place to be… you were just thinking, that could be my husband. So that’s when we decided we would raise money to refurbish it.”
The couple are no stranger to hard work, having completely renovated their now five-star self catering cottages from a 300 year old farmhouse and barns.
‘Friends of the Neuro Ward ARI’ was set up in 2013 with the aim of raising £70,000 by the summer of 2015 to coincide with refurbishments being done by the NHS.
At the last count they are well on their way, having raised a staggering £50,000 in just over a year through a variety of activities and events, including, perhaps most notably, a “nudie” charity calendar.
The calendar features various Orkney people, young and old – including young Orkney farmers, who Caroline said she have been “just great” and very supportive – in the buff.
“We were sitting in the pub after a charity auction and one of the farmers said, ‘you should do one of those calendars, Caroline!’ I just thought… ooh that’s a great idea! And it went from there.”
All proceeds of the calendar will go towards a bladder scanner for MS patients, but money for the refurbishment of the neuro ward has been raised through a plethora of activities, from cream teas and coffee mornings to wedding catwalk shows, charity auctions, sponsored walks, girls’ night in sleepover spa nights and quiz nights.
Caroline said she hopes that corporate sponsors might consider funding a wet room.
“It’s all about giving the patients a bit more dignity and reducing the nurses workload,” Caroline said. “The staff are just brilliant but you could tell they were quite demoralised at the lack of facilities.”
She isn’t stopping there, however: next on her fundraising wish list is a life saving intraoperative MRI scanner, of which there are few in the UK. She is aiming to raise £1 million, and with £10,000 already raised by ARI chief neuro surgeon Mr Kamel, hitting the target does not seem out of the question.
- If you’d like to help Friends of the Neuro Ward ARI by buying a calendar – priced £7.50 – or donating, you can contact Caroline by emailing c.kritchlow258@btinternet.com or via the charity’s Facebook page.
Louise Thomason
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