Liver transplant patient raises money at wedding

Ruth and Ed Harcourt got married at the beginning of June this year and chose to raise money at their wedding for the Liver Unit after Ruth received a liver transplant at QEHB.

Ruth was put on the liver transplant list on 26 October 2017 and received her transplant on 9 November that year.

She suffered from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) which is a chronic, long-term disease that slowly damages bile ducts in the liver which damages the liver so much the patient needs a liver transplant to survive.

Ruth said: “We wanted to give a little something back as a massive thank you for the most amazing care I received.”

Ruth spent three weeks on the Liver Unit and has since been visiting the hospital for her outpatient appointments, she was in hospital longer than usual as she had to have an operation for an internal bleed.

She said: “I always felt extremely well cared for and everyone I had contact with on the wards were all so kind and caring. I was admitted again in July 2018 as I suffered a rejection which can be easily rectified with a change of medicine, and they were still fabulous despite being so busy.”

Ruth and Ed were originally supposed to get married on 4 June 2018 but decided to move the date when she was put on the transplant list to give them more time to plan it, at their wedding this year they raised an incredible £1,280 for the Liver Unit!

Sophie Carroll, Senior Fundraiser at QEHB Charity, said: “A huge congratulations goes to Ruth and Ed on their wedding! And a huge thank you for supporting the hospital charity on their very special day. We are all so grateful that you chose to share your day with us and raise such an incredible amount of money!

“All of the money raised will go towards providing added extras for patients, staff and families on the Unit to enhance their stay at the hospital.

If you have been inspired by Ruth and Ed’s story and want to do some fundraising of your own, visit hospitalcharity.org/getinvolved.