Derek Walsh and his wife Sue recently visited Airedale Hospital to say thank you to the staff that cared for him while he was on the Intensive Care Unit with Covid-19 in winter 2020.
The couple donated a fantastic £1000 towards Airedale Hospital and Community Charity’s Intensive Care for Airedale appeal as a way to give back to the staff on the unit for the excellent care that they provided to Derek and for the kindness that they showed to Sue while her husband was in hospital.
Derek became sick with Covid-19 in November 2020 and spent 80 days in hospital with the illness. He was treated on Airedale’s Intensive Care Unit throughout December 2020.
The Intensive Care for Airedale appeal aims to raise vital funds to purchase important equipment to improve experiences for both patients and staff on Airedale’s ICU. The new unit is due to be completed in spring 2022.
Derek said:
“I am sincerely grateful to each and every person who has been involved in all of my care and treatment whether directly or indirectly, front line or background support, both past, present and future because without you all the outcome of my story could have been very different.
“While I was in hospital, the staff went above and beyond to support myself and Sue. I will always be grateful for the care and compassion given to us and all patients.”
Heather Driver, Acute Pain Nurse at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are so very grateful to be able to see how well Derek is doing after being so gravely unwell. It’s great after all the sadness we have suffered to have such a success story.
“A huge thank you for Derek and Sue’s most generous donation which will go towards helping others that may find themselves in the position Derek was in. I along with many other nurses and doctors spent weeks caring for Derek in the ICU; you get to know everything about them and getting to know him and his wife Sue has been a pleasure.”
To donate to the Intensive Care for Airedale appeal, please contact the charity team or visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/intensivecareforairedale.
Photographed L-R: Tom Woodcock (senior physiotherapist), Ramana Govindaraju (specialist doctor in anaesthetics), Laura Dooling (junior sister), Heather Driver (acute pain nurse), Derek Walsh, Sue Walsh, Ella Checkley (consultant in anaesthetics and clinical lead for critical care), Umair Shahid (junior doctor based on Airedale ICU 2020-21).
