The Big QMC Abseil returns

This weekend (25^th March) we welcomed 93 fundraisers to QMC as they braved the drop and the weather to take on the 100-foot scale down the side of the East block, raising over £36,000 for Nottingham’s NHS hospitals.

We were joined by patients and their families, local businesses, hospital staff and Charity supporters all taking part in the event for one thing – to raise money for the area of the hospitals closest to their hearts.

Fellow abseiler Jack was surprised when his mum Rachel told him on the day that she will be joining him on the descent. Jack underwent treatment at QMC after medics found a brain tumour followed by multiple tumours in his spine in 2017. Luckily, Jack received the best care and treatment, and has since passed his driving test and is now waiting to go off to university.

Sara Lomas and her friend Neenu Minhas took on the descent together. Sara has been busy raising money for Professor Chan’s research team after she was diagnosed with a rare endocrine disease caused by a tumour at the bottom of her brain. Neenu wanted to say thank you to the team at ward E40 for the care her son Aiden received for a grade 4 brain tumour. Aiden sadly passed away in 2017.

One of our last abseilers to go down the side of the QMC was Paul Grice. Paul has worked for the NHS for 30 years and is retiring on the 31^st March. He also celebrated his 60^th birthday with us. He decided to take on the abseil to say thank you to the staff caring for his wife, who is currently receiving treatment for cancer at City Hospital. He told us "

We both thoroughly enjoyed every part of the abseil, we arrived early so we could soak up and enjoy the atmosphere, and what an atmosphere. Everyone clapped and encouraged each other as they did the abseil and it was just so good to be part of it.

We wanted to do the Abseil to celebrate my 60^th birthday on the day, my retirement a few days later, 30 years working for the NHS, and most of all to say thank you for the fantastic care my wife Karen is receiving at the hospital. She is currently undergoing cancer treatment at City hospital and has already gone through chemotherapy and two thoracic operations, one major abdominal operation to go. The care and support she has received has been absolutely spot on, all staff from cleaners to consultants have been so caring and just lovely."

We were also delighted to welcome Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals, Anthony May, who took on the challenge alongside other members of the NUH Executive team and our own Deputy Chief Executive Nigel Gregory.

Team members from our sponsors Source BioScience also took on the drop, Klaudyna Johnstone, Marketing Director at Source BioScience, said "We were delighted to sponsor the Nottingham Hospitals Charity Big QMC Abseil and play our part in raising funds and awareness for such a great local charity. It’s a fantastic opportunity for a thrilling team-building challenge and to promote our brand to a wide audience.

“I really enjoyed participating in the Big Abseil, it was very well-organised and lots of fun! We are delighted with the amount of money we raised for such a great cause and hope to get involved in more events in the near-future”

A huge thank you to everyone who came along and supported our hospitals and our amazing abseilers. If you are feeling inspired, there are still places available for the September abseil!