Publish date: 5 February 2021
An 80-year-old coronavirus survivor has raised over £1,200 for the hospital that ‘saved her life’, by completing a ‘track day’ in her wheelchair.
Gill Bennett, from Nantwich, was admitted to Crewe’s Leighton Hospital after her temperature soared to 40 degrees.
Once in hospital she tested positive for coronavirus and her condition deteriorated. Gill started to make a recovery and after almost four weeks she was well enough to be discharged home.
She set out to raise £500 to give something back to the hospital that cared for her. The appropriately named ‘Gilly-Athlon’ took place on 10 August 2020 and saw Gilly complete 10 miles around Oulton Park race circuit in her battery powered wheelchair.
Gill said, “I wanted to personally thank everyone who kindly donated to such a wonderful cause in the midst of these uncertain times during the pandemic, and to all those people who supported me in helping to raise the money for the charity. Also, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the NHS staff for the amazing job they continue to do every day in this global fight against the virus!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the day at Oulton Park, it was tiring but I managed to cover just over the 10 miles in my battery-powered wheelchair. Thank you to the amazing people at InSafeHands; DSL Mobility; Oulton Park Racing Circuit; the Reverend from St Peter’s Church, Little Budworth who started the event with a group prayer and to all my friends and family. Thank you all for making it a very special day.
Carole Salmon, MCH Charity Community Fundraiser, said. “Gill’s story and fundraising energy are truly inspirational. Watching her cross the finish line at Oulton Park really was awesome to see. We would like to thank her and her family for all their support.”
The Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity is keen to share information about how local groups and organisations can be supported in their fundraising efforts by them. Contact Carole Salmon, Community Fundraiser, on 01270 273248 / 07467 687998 / carole.salmon@mcht.nhs.uk for further information.
