Jean fundraises for Neurosurgery on her 80th birthday

Jean Clemson turned 80 years old in June 2019 and decided that she wanted to use her birthday to help her fundraise for the Neurosurgery team at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham after she had treatment.

In the autumn of 2018, Jean fell ill at her home and was admitted to her local hospital where they ran some tests, found no problems and sent her home. A days later the she fell ill again and her hospital team did a scan of her head and decided to transfer her over to QEHB for further tests.

After being transferred to QEHB, Jean was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was told that if she left it there she would potentially become paralysed, so the option of surgery was available.

Talking about her time in hospital, Jean said: “My operation was on December 21 so I was in hospital over the Christmas period. The operation went fine; I spent a few hours in Critical Care and was then moved onto the ward.

“I couldn’t have asked for better care anywhere, the staff looked after me and made sure I wasn’t in pain. I was in on Christmas Day and I remember carol singers coming around on Christmas Eve. I can’t praise the staff highly enough for their care of me.”

To raise money for the Neurosurgery team, Jean asked her friends and family not to buy her presents for her 80th birthday, but to instead donate to QEHB Charity if they would like to.

Her and her friends and family raised an incredible £750, she said: “When I counted the money at the end, I was stunned to see how much everyone had donated, I’ve got some really good friends and I count my blessings.”

During the Christmas period, the hospital charity fund a number of things around the hospital to make the festive period a little bit easier for those who are in hospital. We fund Christmas trees throughout the hospital, festive hampers for staff and patients to share, and free parking on Christmas Day.

Jean said: “The staff were rushed off their feet during Christmas but they still found the time to make it special for us. On Christmas Day the nurses and doctors came round distributing little presents and chocolates to the patients which was just amazing.

“I loved the Christmas trees, I remember walking through the hospital and seeing all of the trees, it was really lovely to see.”

To find out more about what the hospital charity does for patients like Jean, please click here.