“Walking 26 miles for my nephew” – one fundraiser’s challenge

We’re always deeply touched when fundraisers want to give back to Nottingham Hospitals to thank them for a care of a family member. One of our amazing fundraisers Ted Miller is raising money with the help of friends and family from across the world on behalf of his nephew, Jack, who is currently undergoing treatment for a rare brain tumour.

In his blog, Ted explains why he’s taking on this amazing challenge.

My nephew Jack was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour at the age of 24 after suffering from pain in his neck. Since his first operation, he has been in intensive care at QMC in critical condition. We know that he has a long and difficult journey ahead of him.

As a family we wanted to do something positive in this uncertain and emotional time and hopefully show Jack how loved he is. We’re organising a series of walks on September 17^th across the UK and a few international destinations, which include America and Canada, to raise as much money for QMC as possible. We wanted to get as many people involved as we could which included reaching out to family who no longer live in the UK.

We wanted to recognise the amazing work the QMC staff have done, from Neurosurgery through to general care, especially on the Adult Intensive Care Unit where Jack is currently being looked after.

We want to walk a collective 500 miles. Myself, family, and friends will be setting off from QMC to Farnsfield where I live and family and friends have been using this as a base area when visiting Jack. This is a total of 26 miles.

I’m really excited and nervous about this incredible event and we’ll be finishing with a big celebration at the end. I’m nervous that British weather will hit our walk, it will put a dampener on the day, and I haven’t walked this far in my life, so it’ll be a bit of a challenge. I hope that the weather will hold off and everyone will come out and support us.

Without the hospital’s incredible expertise and care, Jack wouldn’t be alive right now. He’s had 12 emergency operations whilst being in intensive care for 74 days. It has been a rollercoaster with progress and setbacks. Hopefully he’ll be moved to the ICU at Kings Lynn in Norfolk at the beginning of September, which means he’ll be closer to where his mum lives, and it’s where she works as a midwife.

QMC will continue to support him from a distance and we really cannot thank the staff for the dedication and care Jack has received and will continue to receive.

We wish Ted the best of luck in his challenge and Jack the best on his recovery.

If you‘d like to donate to Ted and his family, please visit here.